The components of your HVAC system work together to create a comfortable, healthy, and safe indoor environment. They can regulate your indoor temperature, manage humidity levels, and address concerns related to indoor air quality. Understanding the basic elements and components of your HVAC system is essential. This ensures you can schedule routine maintenance and repairs if you notice any issues with your system.
The Furnace
A furnace distributes warmth throughout the home using heat sources such as gas, oil, or electricity. It is connected to other aspects of your HVAC system, including your ductwork and any whole-house filtration equipment. You must have your furnace routinely inspected and serviced to protect its efficiency. You must also change the filter in your furnace once every 30 to 90 days to protect this unit’s interior components and promote healthy indoor air quality. These components work together to make your furnace operate: heat exchanger, burner, blower motor, ignition system, thermostat, filter, flue, ductwork, and control board.
Boiler Units
Some homes utilize a boiler to generate heat using water and steam. The water is heated to produce steam, and warm air is distributed throughout the home using baseboard heaters or radiators. This is actually a very efficient form of heating, though it’s not as common today as it once was. The components that make a boiler keep your home comfortable are the burner, heat exchanger, circulator pump, expansion tank, pressure relief valve, flue, thermostat, boiler tubes, feedwater system, and safety valves.
Air Conditioning Equipment
If you want to keep your entire home cool during the summer, you can choose to have an air conditioning unit installed on your HVAC system. The condenser is usually installed outside and connects to your indoor system. Refrigerant is used to extract heat from the air inside your home. Cooler air is then circulated throughout the home. This equipment requires ongoing maintenance as well. For example, we check AC refrigerant levels, the fan blades in the unit, etc. Since this equipment is located outdoors, maintenance problems may occasionally occur.
The primary parts of an AC are the compressor, condenser coil, evaporator coil, refrigerant, expansion valve, air handler, thermostat, ductwork, drain line, and filter.
Ductwork
Your heating or cooling equipment is connected to ductwork, which moves conditioned air through your home to various living spaces. Air passes through vents connected to these different ductwork branches. Ductwork can become dirty over time. We recommend having a duct cleaning service done once every few years. This process removes particulate matter. Over time, fungi, mold, and bacteria can accumulate. We can utilize different sanitizing products to remove microbial growth from your ducts.
A ductwork system is just as important as your furnace and AC. Its parts are supply ducts, return ducts, air registers, grilles, plenum, dampers, insulation, elbows and fittings, flex ducts, and seals and tapes.
Thermostat
The thermostat acts as the control panel for your HVAC system. This is where you will set your desired temperature, turn your heating and cooling equipment on and off, program a schedule, etc. If something is wrong with your thermostat, your HVAC system cannot run. Smart thermostats are a great option if you’re in the market for a new unit. They allow you to control your HVAC system remotely from wherever you are. They also offer other features, such as geofencing.
Your smart thermostat will adjust based on where it senses you and your smart device are. You can use a smart device to save energy. You can program a schedule that minimizes heating and cooling equipment use when you won’t be home for extended periods. Your thermostat’s battery should be replaced once per year. It should also not be located in direct sunlight or on an exterior wall, as improper placement can affect its function.
If you need service for your HVAC system, contact our team here at Chancey Heating & Cooling. We install, repair, and maintain heating systems and cooling equipment, ventilation equipment, and whole-house filtration and humidity-control units. We also work on ductwork, offer commercial HVAC assistance, and fabricate sheet metal. We have been serving the Douglas, GA, area since 1959 and are proud of our work.
Contact Chancey Heating & Cooling today for more information or to schedule an appointment.
