Usually heated with natural gas, forced air systems are made up of several important components: the burners, a heat exchanger, and a blower. The burners function is to burn the natural or propane gas in the heat exchanger. The exchanger is a metal enclosure that separates the burners flames from the air stream. The blower moves the air stream. The blower forces the heated air throughout the home's ducts to heat registers in each room.



A forced air system has several pros and cons. The greatest advantage is its quick response time. Forced air systems are capable of quickly heating your home to the setting on your thermostat. For many people, this system's tendency to dry out the air in the house is a big negative. In dry climates, some feel the need to add humidity to the air by installing supplementary humidifiers in the duct system or by operating portable room humidifiers.

It is easy to remove the front access panel to perform service on most forced air furnaces. The front panel usually provides access to the blower compartment also.

Another type of forced air heating system is the heat pump. A heat pump is simply a central air conditioning system with the added ability of ?running in reverse?. As a part of its design the central air conditioning system can operate two ways:

1.Remove the heat from your home and transfer it outside, or

2.Operate ?in reverse? to collect heat from the outside, condense it, and transfer it inside. Even if the outside air is 40 degrees, which is not exactly warm, this device has the ability to extract what little heat there is in the air, condense it into a coil, and redistribute into the house.

Heat pumps work best in mild climates, when the outside air temperature is above 40 degrees. Below 40 degrees, there is not enough heat in the outside air to bring into the home. However, most heat pump systems come with a backup called ?auxiliary heat?. The auxiliary heating device resembles a kitchen toaster. It has a bank of electric heaters inside its unit. This backup system works well when the outside temperature drops. However, the unit uses a lot electricity and can quickly run up your electric bill. For this reason, heat pump systems are most popular in the warmer climates where there is seldom a need for auxiliary heat.

Keep these tips in mind if you own a heat pump system:

1.Keep the filter clean year-round. Clean or replace the filter regularly (every 30 to 60 days or according to the instructions) during both the heating and cooling season.

2.Next, do not run the system in the heating mode when the outside temperature is above 65 degrees.

3.Lastly, be kind to your wallet and do not run the auxiliary heat source anymore than necessary.

Air Filters

To run efficiently an safely, a heating system needs a clean air filter. In a gas burning forced air furnace system, dirty or missing air filters can reduce efficiency. Dirt and dust slow the flow through the furnace heat exchanger and can cause it to overheat. This could shorten the life of the system or result in costly repairs.

The same care has to be taken with the heat pump system. This system is made up of evaporator coils (hundreds of very thin, closely spaced, aluminium fins similar to an automobile radiator). When the air filter is dirty or missing, these coils act as a ?substitute? air filter. Soon, the coils become clogged with dirt and an expensive service call is necessary.

When you system is in use, it is a good idea to check your own air filter about every 30-60 days. Then clean and replace filter as necessary.

Roger Frost is the founder of Napoleon Home Inspections, which has offices in Barrie and Toronto Ontario. Read more articles on home improvement and renovations at http://diy.napoleon.cc and ask experts questions at http://www.napoleon.cc/forum , where you can ask trades people questions on common home problems.