Questions About Residential Heating
A major part of any home is the heating and cooling system. It is vital if you live in an area where the climate is extreme. In places with snow, one must heat the home in the winter in order for the home to be livable just as a cooling system is a must in places with extreme heat.
One might ask the question, “How does the heating and cooling system (HVAC) work?” The following is some basic information about heating and cooling systems. Knowing this will help you decide if you need furnace repair in Union County.
First there are three basics to climate control devices: a source of warm or cool air, the ability to warm or cool rooms by distributing the air in those rooms and a thermostat.
Furnaces and air conditioning usually use the same distribution and control system. Heating and cooling usually run through the same ducts and use the same thermostat. If something is malfunctioning, it could be any one of the components mentioned above.
Heating and air conditioning work from the standpoint that heat moves from warmer to cooler places. Furnaces and heaters use air to make a room and a home warmer. Air conditioners remove heat to make your home cooler.
All heating and cooling systems use fuel to operate. Air conditioners use electricity and furnaces use gas or some other type of fuel. Furnaces consume the electricity, gas or fuel to create warm air that is channeled through ducts to the registers of homes and then blown out to warm the air in the living spaces of the home. Boilers boil water and send the water through pipes that are embedded in the walls to warm the air in the rooms.
“When an air conditioner is turned on, electrical power is used to cool a gas in a coil to its liquid state. Warm air in your home is cooled by contact with the cooling coil, and this cooled air is channeled to the rooms of your home through ducts and out registers or -- in the case of room air conditioners -- directly from the unit itself.”
Forced-Air Systems
A forced-air system sends the warm air produced by the furnace and the cool air produced by the central air conditioner through a fan that is electrically powered. This fan is called a blower. It forces air through the metal ducts to the rooms in your home. As the warm air fills the room cool air in the rooms flows down through another set of ducts, called the cold air return system. The air is channeled to the furnace to be warmed. It is an adjustable system. One can increase or decrease the amount of air flowing through their home. Central air conditioning also uses forced air to cool the rooms and bring warmer air back to the unit to be cooled.
Some problems with forced air include the fact that the most common problem is that the blower malfunctions. It may also be noisy. It also adds the cost of electricity to the cost of the fuel the furnace uses. However, the blower makes it an effective way to get airborne heat or cool air throughout a house.
Gravity Systems
Gravity systems operate using the principle that hot air rises and cold air sinks. They cannot be used for central-air. The furnace, in a gravity system, is located near or below the floor. The furnace warms the air that then rises and flows through ducts to registers in the floor throughout the house. When the air cools it enters the return ducts and flows back to the furnace where it is reheated.
Another basic distribution system for heating is the radiant system. It is based on heating water which is done by the furnace and then circulated through pipes embedded in the wall, floor or ceilings. The water may also be channeled to radiators located in the room. All of these warm the air in the room. These systems cannot be used to circulate cool air from central air units.
There are many different ways to warm and cool a home. For example, a standard furnace circulates warm air through duct work. While a central air unit uses the same duct work to circulate cool air. Gravity systems warm air and allow air to rise. Central air cannot be used with this type of system. Finally, radiant systems, warm water and force them through pipes.
One might ask the question, “How does the heating and cooling system (HVAC) work?” The following is some basic information about heating and cooling systems. Knowing this will help you decide if you need furnace repair in Union County.
First there are three basics to climate control devices: a source of warm or cool air, the ability to warm or cool rooms by distributing the air in those rooms and a thermostat.
Furnaces and air conditioning usually use the same distribution and control system. Heating and cooling usually run through the same ducts and use the same thermostat. If something is malfunctioning, it could be any one of the components mentioned above.
Heating and air conditioning work from the standpoint that heat moves from warmer to cooler places. Furnaces and heaters use air to make a room and a home warmer. Air conditioners remove heat to make your home cooler.
All heating and cooling systems use fuel to operate. Air conditioners use electricity and furnaces use gas or some other type of fuel. Furnaces consume the electricity, gas or fuel to create warm air that is channeled through ducts to the registers of homes and then blown out to warm the air in the living spaces of the home. Boilers boil water and send the water through pipes that are embedded in the walls to warm the air in the rooms.
“When an air conditioner is turned on, electrical power is used to cool a gas in a coil to its liquid state. Warm air in your home is cooled by contact with the cooling coil, and this cooled air is channeled to the rooms of your home through ducts and out registers or -- in the case of room air conditioners -- directly from the unit itself.”
Forced-Air Systems
A forced-air system sends the warm air produced by the furnace and the cool air produced by the central air conditioner through a fan that is electrically powered. This fan is called a blower. It forces air through the metal ducts to the rooms in your home. As the warm air fills the room cool air in the rooms flows down through another set of ducts, called the cold air return system. The air is channeled to the furnace to be warmed. It is an adjustable system. One can increase or decrease the amount of air flowing through their home. Central air conditioning also uses forced air to cool the rooms and bring warmer air back to the unit to be cooled.
Some problems with forced air include the fact that the most common problem is that the blower malfunctions. It may also be noisy. It also adds the cost of electricity to the cost of the fuel the furnace uses. However, the blower makes it an effective way to get airborne heat or cool air throughout a house.
Gravity Systems
Gravity systems operate using the principle that hot air rises and cold air sinks. They cannot be used for central-air. The furnace, in a gravity system, is located near or below the floor. The furnace warms the air that then rises and flows through ducts to registers in the floor throughout the house. When the air cools it enters the return ducts and flows back to the furnace where it is reheated.
Another basic distribution system for heating is the radiant system. It is based on heating water which is done by the furnace and then circulated through pipes embedded in the wall, floor or ceilings. The water may also be channeled to radiators located in the room. All of these warm the air in the room. These systems cannot be used to circulate cool air from central air units.
There are many different ways to warm and cool a home. For example, a standard furnace circulates warm air through duct work. While a central air unit uses the same duct work to circulate cool air. Gravity systems warm air and allow air to rise. Central air cannot be used with this type of system. Finally, radiant systems, warm water and force them through pipes.