February 2020

How Does My Furnace's Gas Valve Work? The gas valve on your furnace is one of the most important parts! Without it, your house would be quite cold! The gas valve on your furnace is one of the most important parts. It is ultimately responsible for delivering an adjusting the flow of gas pressure to your furnace to keep it lit when running. A gas valve replacement is a common furnace repair in older furnaces. Let's take a look at the different kinds and how they work to keep your home warm in the winter! Types of Gas Valves Combination gas valve: This type of gas valve was introduced around the 1960s. A combination gas valve contains a handle, a thermocouple, a regulator, and a solenoid valve. In essence, it contains everything needed for the operation of a gas fired furnace.  Gas chain: These types of gas valves are quite common and require the operator to manually turn a valve to open or close the flow of gas to the furnace. Once opened by the user, the solenoid valve will only open to allow gas to flow when the furnace actually calls for heat. Otherwise, you'd have a non-stop flow of gas into your home! A safety switch will only remain open if the thermocouple is heated to a minimum temperature, verifying the furnace is actually in heating mode. How The Gas Valve Works The furnace's gas valve is operated by electromagnets. There are two different valve's that work in...

Will a Heat Pump Save Me Money? Heat pumps are a great option for someone looking for a unit to both heat and cool their home! What Is a Heat Pump Anyway? A heat pump is a pretty cool piece of equipment. It is capable of both cooling your home in the summer and heating your home in the winter. It looks pretty much identical to an air conditioner but utilizes an air handler to move air throughout your home. A heat pump is a type of forced air HVAC system.  Some customers have a gas furnace as well that they use for "emergency heat" in the winter as heat pumps are designed to heat a home as long as the temp is above 30 degrees outside. Heat pumps work by moving warm air from one place to another. In the summer it moves the warm air out of your home, and in the winter it moves warm air into your home. Even when it is cold outside, heat energy is still present! By moving heat instead of generating heat, it can be a cost effective alternative to heating.  Can a Heat Pump Save Me Money? This really depends. Although you can certainly save money on fuel consumption in the winter, a heat pump will use a bit more electricity than a standard furnace and air conditioner as it is both cooling and heating your home. Also, heat pumps are generally more expensive to install than a normal air conditioner as...