March 7, 2013
A forced-air system is one of the safest and most efficient ways to heat homes in southeast Virginia and across the U.S. Few homeowners know exactly how their forced-air system works, but knowing a little about how heat pumps, A/Cs and furnaces operate will help you communicate effectively with your HVAC professional should something go wrong with your system.
A forced-air system is comprised of four main components:
Thermostat. The thermostat tells the furnace or heat pump when to turn on and when to turn off. When the temperature of the air in your home dips below the thermostat setting, your unit turns on. When the air reaches the thermostat setting, the system turns off.
Air handler. The air handler in your furnace draws cold air through the return ducts and into the unit's heat exchanger, where it's heated and sent back into your rooms through the supply duct system. The air handler in your furnace is located in the blower assembly between the furnace and the cold-air return. The air handler in your heat pump is often, but not always, a stand-alone unit.
Heat exchanger or refrigerant coils. The heat exchanger in your furnace heats the incoming air, utilizing either a gas-fueled burner or electric heating element. The refrigerant coils on a heat pump or A/C are connected to an outdoor compressor. When the air passes over the coils, it's either heated or cooled. If extra heat is needed, supplemental electrical elements kick on.
Ductwork. The heat pump or furnace's blower sends warm air through the ducts in your home and into each room. The A/C and heat pump do the same thing during the cooling process.
Other forced-air system components include an air filter, which traps particles to prevent them from building up inside the equipment, which can cause expensive damage. Registers in each room of your home control the direction and flow of air coming through your ducts. Combustible forced-air systems have a vent that sends the exhaust gases outdoors.
For more expert information about how your forced-air system works, please contact us at Russell's Heating & Cooling, serving the Hampton Roads area with integrity since 1977.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about forced-air systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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