When you have your furnace inspected and serviced, HVAC technicians or utility inspectors are obligated to report and respond to any safety issues they discover. In this situation, you may be surprised if your furnace earns a red tag. This is no award -- it means the inspector has found a critical safety issue in your furnace, most often a cracked or broken heat exchanger, and that the furnace must be shut down immediately and not turned back on until the issue is fixed or the unit replaced.
The term “red-tagging” derives from the red-colored tag affixed to units that have been declared unsafe and inoperable. Once the shock of having this happen has worn off, you should be able to see that red-tagging a furnace is the only reasonable response. A red-tagged furnace is dangerous to operate and should be considered a genuine threat to health and life. The heat exchanger is the part of your furnace that transfers heat generated from fuel combustion to the air that warms your house. A crack in the heat exchanger can allow dangerous carbon monoxide gas to leak from the furnace into your living spaces before it can be safely vented outdoors. Remember that humans cannot detect carbon monoxide. The gas is extremely dangerous, and it can kill. Most carbon monoxide deaths occur when people are exposed to it in their sleep. A furnace that is, in effect, emitting poison must be shut down, which leads to the red-tagging. When a furnace has a damaged heat exchanger, replacement of the entire furnace unit is usually the best option. Replacing heat exchangers alone can sometimes cost as much as an entire heating system. A new furnace will give you a reliable and warranted unit that you can rely on to be safe and effective. For more than 35 years, Russell’s Heating & Cooling has served commercial and residential HVAC customers in the Hampton Roads area, including the Peninsula and Southside. Contact us todayfor more information on what to do with a red-tagged furnace and how to find a replacement that fits your budget. Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about red-tagged furnace and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Russell’s Heating & Cooling services the Chesapeake, Virginia and the surrounding areas. Visit our websiteto see our special offers and get started today!
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