Advice Of Your AC Repair Company On Various Safety Features Of A Furnace | Paradise Valley, AZ
A furnace is essential to your home’s comfort, especially during the cold season. It produces heat and uses a blower motor to push the hot air into your home. Hence, a furnace is a controlled fire burning your home to ensure comfort. A furnace can pose serious risks to you and your family, like any other burning item, if it starts malfunctioning. Hence, it is recommended that you have your unit inspected and regularly serviced by a heating and AC repair company.
Before you get scared, it is critical to note that a furnace features some safety features that ensure it is optimally and safely functioning. You must accord your furnace routine maintenance to ensure that it is not only performing at its peak but also is safe. So, what are some of the safety features of a furnace?
Flame Rollout Sensor
Did you know that fire has three ingredients, one of which is highly abundant? If you didn’t, it is time you knew that fire is a product of oxygen, fuel, and heat. To make your home comfortably warm, the furnace starts a fire in the combustion chamber using a steady inflow of fuel and oxygen. Raw natural gas is released from the gas valves that serve as fuel. Unfortunately, the gas valve may be clogged if not cleaned for some time, inhibiting the furnace’s operation. Hence, an AC repair company in Paradise Valley, AZ should come over to clean the valve during the maintenance visit.
The gas comes to contact with the source of heat. Based on your furnace, the heat source could be a spark igniter, hot surface igniter, or pilot light. When the heat source comes into contact with the gas, they use the oxygen in the combustion chamber to ignite a fire. If oxygen is not enough for complete combustion, the flame may roll out from the furnace, searching for oxygen. This is where the flame rollout sensor detects the flame leaving the furnace, sending a signal to shut off the furnace. If the rollout flame sensor isn’t working right, the flame may reach the floor joints, attic trusses, and nearby walls, causing serious fire damage. Hence, ensure that a heating and AC repair company maintains your furnace.
Surge Protector
The other surge protector feature is an add-on that a heating and AC repair company can install to protect your furnace. A surge protector is a device that protects electrical appliances, such as a furnace, from damage caused by sudden spikes in voltage. These voltage spikes, known as surges, can be caused by various factors, including lightning strikes, power outages, and problems with the electrical grid. If a surge of electricity were to enter a furnace, it could damage its internal components and potentially cause a fire.
A surge protector works by redirecting any excess voltage away from the furnace and into the ground, where it can safely dissipate. This helps to protect the furnace from damage and keep it operating safely. Some surge protectors also have built-in circuit breakers, which can help prevent fires by automatically shutting off the electricity if the surge protector detects a dangerous voltage level. Overall, having an AC repair company install a surge protector can help extend your furnace’s life and keep it running safely.
The High Limit Switch
Every furnace features a high-temperature limit switch, a fan limit switch, or an upper limit switch that prevents the furnace from overheating. This switch functions like a thermometer. The flame sensor usually tests the air above the furnace heat exchanger and turns on the fan when the air is warm enough to start circulating in your Paradise Valley, AZ home to increase indoor temperatures. By preventing overheating, the high-limit switch ensures that various problems that need the attention of an AC repair company don’t arise.
Besides turning on the furnace blower fans to distribute the heated air, the sensor can also turn off the furnace if it detects the unit overheating, preventing a fire. Furnace high-limit switches usually activate more in those residential or commercial properties that use zoned HVAC systems. This also might arise when a cold snap persists for some time. This means you have a furnace larger than a single zone may handle, resulting in overheating. Hence, you may call a heating and AC repair company to adjust the temperature zones.
Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors
Carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke detectors are important safety devices that can help to protect against the dangers of a furnace malfunction. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas produced when fuels, such as natural gas, are burned. If a furnace is not functioning properly, it can produce high levels of carbon monoxide, which can be deadly if inhaled. Smoke detectors, on the other hand, are designed to detect the presence of smoke, which can signify a fire.
Both carbon monoxide and smoke detectors work by using sensors to monitor the air for the presence of CO or smoke. If the sensors detect a dangerous level of either substance, the detector will sound an alarm, alerting the home’s occupants to the potential danger. This gives people time to evacuate their homes and seek safety.
By having a heating and AC repair company install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors near a furnace, homeowners can help to ensure their safety in the event of a furnace malfunction. Regularly testing and maintaining these detectors is also important to ensure they function properly. Overall, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are essential to furnace safety and can help protect against the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and fires.
There are many other safety features of your furnace, whether built-in or add-ons. Hence, you can liaise with an AC repair technician to augment the existing safety features. Contact us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix, your reliable HVAC repair company in Paradise Valley, AZ for any furnace service.
