Parts of a Forced Air Heating System

Forced air heating is the most commonly used heating system in the U.S. and Canada. One reason it is so popular is that the ducting that runs throughout the house can serve a double purpose in that it is used along with the home’s air conditioning unit in the summer months. Since air dries out when it is heated, many forced air systems these days also have a humidifier attached. The humidifier keeps the air moisture level in the home at comfortable levels and prevents people feeling like their sinus cavities are drying out.

An air handling unit is a required component in a forced air heating system. The air handler blows the heated up air into the ducts and around to the various rooms of the house. It is controlled by a thermostat which turns the system on and off by detecting the temperature of the room it is in. One way to save money on heating bills and to keep from wasting energy is to use a programmable thermostat. There is no need to keep the home heated to the same temperature at night when the family is asleep as during the day when people are in the house.

There are several other parts to a forced air heating system. One of these is an air filter which cleans the air entering the heat exchanger. This filter must be kept clean to keep the unit operating efficiently and to ensure the air in the house is clean as well. Each room will have a register where the ducting ends, and these registers will control the flow of air into the rooms. If you use a gas burning furnace, most likely fueled by natural gas or propane, there will need to be a flue that carries the combusted gases outside the building.

There is a set sequence of events that happens when the system starts running at the time that the thermostat detects that the temperature in the home has dropped below a level chosen by the homeowner. The blower starts pulling air through the return ducts, and this room temperature air goes into a heat exchanger. Most people have natural gas fired furnaces these days because that is the most economical type of system, but the furnace can be electric or can be a heat pump. The heated air then is blown into the ducts and is forced to all rooms of the house. Once the thermostat recognizes that the temperature has risen beyond a set level, the system turns off until the next cycle is initiated.