As long as your heating system is keeping your home at a consistent, warm temperature, you might not give it much thought. However, if you’re noticing inconsistent temperatures or higher energy bills, you may want to try to figure out the problem. So, how do heaters work?
Learn more about how your heating system attempts to maintain a consistent temperature in your home, whether it runs from electricity or natural gas.
How an Electric Heater or Furnace Creates Heat
When powered by electricity, your furnace or heater has a heating element inside. The furnace draws power through its electrical connection and heats a heating element, which is a metallic resistance alloy.
As the electrical current goes through the heating element, the coils in this device heat up quickly. Heating elements using this technology appear in common appliances like toasters. A large heating element in a furnace can heat the entire house.
How a Natural Gas Furnace Creates Heat
How do heaters work when they run from natural gas? The natural gas or propane fuel creates a flame inside the furnace or heater. The flame heats a metal heat exchanger to an extremely high temperature.
The metal heat exchanger often consists of stainless steel or aluminized steel.
How Warm Air Exits the Heater
With the metal heating element or heat exchanger at a high temperature, the heater operates its fan to move air across the hot metal. As this heated air moves through the air ducts in your home, it travels through supply vents and brings warmer air to your entire home.
The return vents in the home pull air back into the system, where the furnace can heat it again. This system continuously moves heated air throughout the home.
How the Thermostat Controls the Heater
The furnace or heater turns off when the air in the home reaches the temperature setting on the thermostat. When the measured temperature drops below the setting on the thermostat, the heater or furnace kicks on again, generating more heated air.
On an especially cold night, the furnace may need to run for more time or almost continuously, allowing it to maintain the desired temperature. The more time the heater must run, the more natural gas or electricity it uses, increasing your utility bills.
If the day or night is not cold enough, your home might never fall below the desired temperature setting on the thermostat, meaning the heater would never start running.
Common Heating Repairs
Common heating repairs often involve fixing issues with the thermostat, pilot light, or heat exchanger. Faulty thermostats can cause uneven heating or fail to signal the system to start, while problems with the pilot light, common in gas furnaces, can prevent the heater from igniting. Cracked or damaged heat exchangers are also frequent concerns, as they can cause leaks or reduce efficiency.
Additionally, issues like worn-out belts, clogged filters, and malfunctioning blower motors can lead to airflow problems and uncomfortable indoor temperatures. Addressing these repairs promptly can help keep your heating system running smoothly and avoid more costly issues down the line.
Trust Chud Cooling & Heating for Your Heating Tune-up Needs
How do heaters work? How can you ensure they’re operating as efficiently as possible?
At Chud Cooling & Heating, we provide furnace tune-ups that give you peace of mind regarding your heating system. Our preventative maintenance techniques for the different mechanisms in your HVAC system ensure it operates at the highest possible efficiency.
To set up an appointment or to learn more about how we can help, call us at (215) 659-4343. Our technicians can explain how your heater works and help you understand why tune-ups are an important maintenance step.
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“I had a great experience with Chud. Lewis and Sebastian did a fantastic job. They were communicative and on time, explained everything that they would be doing to clean my HVAC ductwork, answered all of my questions, were honest about not being able to properly clean my dryer vent, and cleaned up after they were done. They also went above and beyond, even cleaning dust from each slat of the return vent. Highly recommend.”
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“We have been a customer of Chud Air Conditioning, Heating & Duct Cleaning for many years and have always had a very satisfying experience. The technicians have been very responsive during emergencies, are informative, and professional. Shane was our recent service technician who replaced our water heater. Shane was excellent, very thorough, friendly, and dependable. I would not hesitate to use them again and don’t forget to ask for Shane!”
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“We rely on Chud Duct Cleaning to perform our regular duct cleaning in our home. Your service technicians Lewis and Sebastian arrived promptly, introduced themselves and got right to work. Our home has many vents behind and under furniture, which was moved and replaced as if nothing ever happened. My home was carefully prepared and respected throughout the entire process. An access panel was replaced for a more pleasant look and better access in the future. I will not hesitate to use this company for service again.”
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“They came to service my heater and clean my ducts. They were super respectful of my property, thourough with their work, and carefully explained everything to me. My system is falling into disrepair. I could clearly see the rust and hear the problems they found. They recommended a variety of possible solutions from temporary furnace repairs to a new HVAC system. No pressure. I have a lot to think about, but it is good to know I have found someone I can trust to do the job.”
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“Lewis and Sebastian were professional, knowledgeable and polite, and worked diligently over the course of two days to clean and sanitize the immense ductwork system at this location. They took the time to explain the process in detail, and were extremely aware of the need to treat a customer’s home as if it were their own. This was my second experience with Chud, and I won’t hesitate to call them again in the future.”
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“Had a new heater and ac installed. Very pleased with entire process, from troubleshooting the old system to choosing the new to installation. Rich had patience with all my questions about the new system and helped me to understand the differences I should expect with the new. Matt and John did an outstanding job pulling out the old and installing the new. They got there on time and got right to work. Very professional technicians. Overall, a top notch job at a fair price. I highly recommend Chud.”
