|
| This is your Wednesday coupon. We can provide service and repair to all of your electrical, plumbing, rooter and HVAC needs. Click on one of hte many links below to see everything that we do. |
Heating System Visual Inspection
This inspection should only take between 15 and 20 minutes. It will take you far longer to read this than to perform it. Most of the inspection is simply looking at the system with a trained eye. Memorize this inspection list and your eye will be trained in the right direction. The vast majority of the time you will find out what is wrong with the furnace during the visual inspection. Most of the problems are very obvious to the trained eye.
The visual inspection of the furnace is really a visual inspection of the entire system. The furnace is not just a stand alone piece of equipment that works independently of everything else in the house. Some of the factors the play into the performance of any heating system are:
1. The Ducting. Without quality insulated and sealed ducting the furnaces ability to heat the home can be severely hampered. If the furnace has 5 ducts serving the home and one of those ducts is broken, then about 20% percent of the heating system is useless as the heat is escaping into the attic. The duct system is the most overlooked parts of the heating and cooling system. It is the part of the system that wastes the most amount of energy due to leaks to the outside air and poor delivery of the conditioned air to where it is needed for maximum comfort. Open the access hole up and look at it. Poor ducting can ruin a system.
2. The Exterior Doors and Windows. If the doors and windows do not seal properly the amount of air that they are exchanging with the outside can be very significant. The furnace will only maintain the comfort level in the house provided that the house is sufficiently sealed against the outside elements. It is very important in the winter to minimize any drafts. The drafts can affect the thermostat causing short cycling and wild temperature swings. If you see something obvious or feel a draft mention it to the homeowner.
3. The Thermostat. The thermostat is nothing more than an on-off control mechanism. It is the equivalent of an automatic light switch. Simple thermostats are better in my book as they encounter less problems. The positioning of the thermostat is very important. The thermostat should be positioned about chest level in the room and close to the room that the family spends the majority of their time in. It does no good to monitor the temperature in an area that nobody spends time in. Do not put the thermostat next to heat sources (TV stereo) or cold sources(exterior window or door). Keep the thermostat in the common area away from windows, doors, TV’s, microwaves, ovens, other heat sources and blowing supply registers. Failure to do this can cause false readings and intermittent heat in the home. Thermostats are dumb. They can only measure the temperature where they are at. They can not tell if someone is comfortable or not.
4. The Supply Registers should be open and clean. If the registers are closed the system could experience temperatures that are too high and the furnace could turn off due to excessive firebox temperatures. The registers should be clean. If you see black streaks coming from the registers it is a sign that the system needs duct cleaning or the ducts may need to be replaced. Most systems should be cleaned every few years. Most systems can not handle more than a single register turned off. Restricting airflow across the firebox of a furnace can be catastrophic to the integrity of the firebox. Do not allow more than one room to ever be closed off at the register.
.5. The Return Air Register. Make sure that you observe the return air register. Many times you will find a problem with it. It may be too small for the adequate airflow that your furnace needs to maintain the temperature in the firebox. It may be blocked by a couch. It may be a filter grill and the filter has never been changed. It may be a filter grill and the filter has never been installed.