When you have a furnace in the home, it is important to have the unit working properly. As a home owner, it is your responsibility to have the furnace system inspected before and after the winter season. With a proper inspection, you can rest assured that your unit is operating as it should be. By contacting your local HVAC provider, you can have the unit inspected, cleaned and maintained to be ready to perform during the cold winter months. As a new home owner, you may be wondering what exactly happens during a furnace inspection. Below we cover the basic steps so you can understand what is happening with your unit as the technician helps to prepare it for winter.

Visual Inspection

To begin, the furnace is set to heat and the fuel jets are checked to make sure the fuel burning process is taking place. After this is checked, the unit is turned off and the technician will take a look at the venting system to see if the flue gases are able to move freely. The ducts need to be checked for sealing as well as check the joints to make sure the vent is still together well.

The Insides

The next step is to remove the furnace and blower compartment covers. The technician will remove these covers and then take a look at the filter and the mechanical parts. The filter will be removed and the technician will see if the filter needs to be replaced. Filters normally slip in to the slot of the air handler and are used to filter the air in to the home. The technician will then check the blower to make sure it is working properly. The blower needs to have no obstruction and depending on your unit type, the blower motor may need to be lubricated, which the technician will do if necessary.

Furnace Burners

The next area for inspection is the burners. The burners must be removed from the furnace and cleaned. With the removal of the burners, the technician will be able to visually examine the inside of the furnace better and clean the burners for better operation. Fresh water will be used to clean the burners to remove any debris or dust that may have adhered to the burners. With cleaning, the burners can operate more efficiently and for safety reasons. The sensor and pilot is also located in this area and must be cleaned. The technician will use a wire brush and cloth to take care of this portion of the unit.

Reassemble the System and Safety Checks

Once the inspection of the components is completed, the technician will then put the unit back together and get ready to conduct safety checks. After reassembling the unit, the technician will check the high limit of the unit to ensure overheating cannot take place. The gas meter is checked to make sure the fuel usage rate is appropriate. The last and final test is to check the products of the flue to ensure that the carbon monoxide levels are safe. A carbon monoxide meter is used to test these levels. It is also recommended that a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in the home to help alert you if dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are high in your home. This is a safety measure that is a must-have when operating a furnace in the home.

Hopefully the inspection process will have gone smoothly for you, however if your furnace is found to faulty it will either need to be repaired or replaced with a new one. Either way you can't continue to operate a malfunctioning furnace, particularly if it is emitting dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Overall, it is important to have the unit checked every season to ensure workability. You want the system to operate properly and provide you with an efficient way to heat the home when the winter months arrive without the threat of breakdown or repair needs.