A forced-air system is a real workhorse that faithfully plows along season after season to meet the changing heating and cooling needs of its homeowner. Savvy Dayton area homeowners understand that it pays to take good care of their systems with regular checkups from an HVAC professional, and intermittent spot-checks of the air filter and other components.
Learn the basic workings of your system to help you troubleshoot minor issues and control utility bills.
Mechanics of a forced-air system
The components of a forced-air system must be pulling their share of the load for maximum performance and energy savings. These are the components and their functions.
- A thermostat calls for heating or cooling from the furnace, central air conditioner or heat pump (or dual-fuel system).
- The furnace, air conditioner or heat pump engages and begins heating or cooling its respective heat exchanger.
- A blower or air handler forces air movement into the duct system, which is a network of tubes, return grilles, supply outlets and ancillary components such as jumper ducts that channel airflow.
- Heated or cooled air circulates through the supply outlets into the living spaces. Air is simultaneously pulled through the living spaces, and back through the return grille(s) to complete the air-circulation process.
- When enough heated or cooled air brings the temperature in the living spaces to the thermostat set point, the heating or cooling system shuts down.
Forced-air systems may incorporate additional indoor air quality and comfort components, such as a zoning system, a whole-house humidifier, a UV light system and more. The performance of these accompanying systems depends on the efficiency of your forced-air system.
Forced-air systems need free airflow at every juncture of the heating or cooling process. Check your air filter regularly, and ensure that no obstructions hinder air circulation at the outside unit (of an A/C or heat pump), such as ice and snow drifts; or leaves, grass clippings, hedges; and/or other debris.
For more information about your forced-air system, or any HVAC issue you have, contact Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc.today. We’re a family-owned and operated company that strives to provide 100 percent satisfaction for our Dayton area customers.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio 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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