A common misconception among many homeowners is that, compared to appliances such as water heaters and air conditioners, a furnace requires relatively little maintenance. Unfortunately, this attitude often leads to breakdowns and the need for expensive repairs. If you would like to learn more about the importance of regular maintenance, read on. This article will discuss two things a professional furnace technician can do for you.
Make a combustion efficiency analysis.
Aside from preventing unwanted breakdowns, furnace maintenance has a vital role to play in ensuring optimum efficiency. This in turn helps to keep your heating bills as low as possible. One of the most common ways that a furnace technician can optimize your efficiency is by performing what is known as a combustion analysis.
The point of a combustion analysis is to determine how effectively your furnace is combusting the fuel that enters its combustion chamber. This test is performed using a so-called combustion analyzer, which measures the levels of the different gases that make up your exhaust. This allows the maintenance person to determine how much uncombusted fuel is present. Based on this information, they will then make any necessary changes to ensure optimum performance, usually by adjusting the air-fuel ratio in the combustion chamber.
Replace faulty fuel nozzles.
Fuel enters your furnace’s combustion chamber by means of a component known as the fuel nozzle. This nozzle is responsible for atomizing the fuel to ensure optimum dispersal. Over time, however, gunk tends to build up inside of the fuel nozzle, eventually restricting the flow of fuel. This tends to have a deleterious effect on the combustion efficiency, since the fuel can no longer be atomized the way it should.
During your furnace maintenance session, a repair person will inspect the fuel nozzle for signs of blockage. They may opt to either clean the nozzle–or simply to replace it with a new one.
If you believe that your furnace could benefit from professional inspection and maintenance, please do not hesitate to contact us.