How Does A Furnace Work?

Date: November 21, 2022

Understanding how forced-air heating systems keep you warm

Today, there are many ways to keep your Boston area home warm during the winter. If your home has vents that emit warm air during cold months, you likely have a furnace heating you.

Furnaces have existed in some form since the 13th century, when a city hall in Luneberg, Germany, connected three heating vessels to various rooms via circular ducts. Over the years, furnaces have burned wood, coal, peat and sawdust to heat air. The furnaces that the Cubby Oil & Energy team installs use clean-burning B50 Bioheat SuperPlus™ heating oil.

How exactly does a furnace keep your home warm? Allow us to explain the process.

How do oil-fired furnaces work?

Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how a furnace warms your home:

1. Your thermostat communicates with the furnace when the temperature drops too low.
2. The fuel pump draws oil through a filter to the furnace’s burner. The burner heats the oil, so it mists, mixes with air and ignites.
3. The air in the furnace’s combustion chamber becomes incredibly hot. This heat travels into the heat exchanger.
4. The furnace’s blower distributes this warm air into your living area through air ducts.
5. Another vent brings cooler air into the furnace system to be warmed and distributed.
6. This process continues until your home reaches its desired temperature, at which point the thermostat signals for the furnace to turn off.
7. Throughout this process, byproducts of oil combustion vent through a flue out of your home.

What are the different types of furnaces?

If your furnace is over 15 years, it’s probably approaching the end of its lifespan. You should consider looking for a newer, more efficient unit to improve your home comfort and reduce your energy bills. Before scheduling a furnace installation, though, it’s worth considering the different types of heating equipment.

Single-stage furnaces only feed fuel into the burner at one rate: full blast. This means they heat air at the highest power until signaled by the thermostat to stop.

Two-stage furnaces have fuel valves that can partially close to run at about 65 percent capacity. If this is insufficient to heat your home, the valve fully opens. These are more efficient models than single-stage furnaces.

Variable speed furnaces have blower motors and fans that move at different speeds depending on how much heat dispersal you need.

Cubby Oil & Energy — Your furnace installation and service provider

Cubby’s team of knowledgeable, friendly technicians can help you choose the right furnace for your home and budget. Then, we’ll get it installed quickly and correctly. Replacing a struggling furnace with a new high-efficiency model can save you up to 30 percent on fuel costs. You’ll immediately begin seeing a return on your investment.

And if you need a furnace repair or maintenance call, our technicians are always ready to make sure your equipment is working at peak performance.

Contact our team to discuss options for upgrading your home’s heating.