Types of Heating Units for Canadian Homes
There are a few of heating units a Canadian homeowner can use to guard against the cold. The kind depends on the homeowner's preference, the needs of the household and how much money the homeowner is willing to spend.
Heat can be circulated through a house though hot water, forced air or steam heat. The fuel used can be oil, gas, electricity or even coal.
An oil burner is made of a unit that holds a number of machines that helps the oil,under pressure, to be pumped into a combustion chamber and be ignited where it's combined with air. Some of the burner's parts are a relay box, or the primary control, which controls the burner motor and the ignition transformer when it receives signals from the thermostat. A reset button is also on the relay box and is used to start the burner when it's stopped due to some problem. There's a junction box that unites the burner component wires and the household current. On old oil burners it's on the back of the unit. The motor turns the pump and blower fan and needs to be oiled at least once a year. The blower fan, found in the blower body, blows air into the combustion chamber. The oil pump circulates and pressurizes oil while the pump nozzle oil line channels forces oil from the pump into the nozzle. The nozzle, which has a tiny opening, sprays aerosolized oil into the combustion chamber. There electrodes create a spark that ignites the oil and air mix, much like spark plugs in a car. There's also an oil supply line, the oil filter bowl, which should be changed once a year and an oil supply valve. In the back of the unit a smokestack carries away the exhaust from the combustion chamber.
The gas burner is simpler than an oil burner. Many homeowners choose a gas burner because it burns cleaner than an oil burner, is easier to take care of and has a steady supply of gas. Gas burners are usually used to power a forced air system. In a gas burner the thermostat activates a valve in the combination control. The gas comes in from a supply line, through a manifold and into burner tubes that mix it with air. The air/gas mix then flows into ports where it's ignited by a pilot light or an electric spark igniter. A heat exchanger uses the fire to make warm air, hot water or steam. The waste gas is released through a vent. If the pilot light goes out or the electric igniter stops the thermostat turns the flow of gas off.
An electric furnace is cleaner even than a gas pump because there's no combustion involved in the heating process. However, they are more expensive than either gas or oil furnaces and the house needs to be well insulated for them to work well. An electric furnace is almost always used with a forced air system. Though the filters and blowers need to be cleaned and the wire connections need to be checked periodically, the electric furnace is just about maintenance free. It can also be attached to a heat pump and the central air conditioning.
Heat can be circulated through a house though hot water, forced air or steam heat. The fuel used can be oil, gas, electricity or even coal.
An oil burner is made of a unit that holds a number of machines that helps the oil,under pressure, to be pumped into a combustion chamber and be ignited where it's combined with air. Some of the burner's parts are a relay box, or the primary control, which controls the burner motor and the ignition transformer when it receives signals from the thermostat. A reset button is also on the relay box and is used to start the burner when it's stopped due to some problem. There's a junction box that unites the burner component wires and the household current. On old oil burners it's on the back of the unit. The motor turns the pump and blower fan and needs to be oiled at least once a year. The blower fan, found in the blower body, blows air into the combustion chamber. The oil pump circulates and pressurizes oil while the pump nozzle oil line channels forces oil from the pump into the nozzle. The nozzle, which has a tiny opening, sprays aerosolized oil into the combustion chamber. There electrodes create a spark that ignites the oil and air mix, much like spark plugs in a car. There's also an oil supply line, the oil filter bowl, which should be changed once a year and an oil supply valve. In the back of the unit a smokestack carries away the exhaust from the combustion chamber.
The gas burner is simpler than an oil burner. Many homeowners choose a gas burner because it burns cleaner than an oil burner, is easier to take care of and has a steady supply of gas. Gas burners are usually used to power a forced air system. In a gas burner the thermostat activates a valve in the combination control. The gas comes in from a supply line, through a manifold and into burner tubes that mix it with air. The air/gas mix then flows into ports where it's ignited by a pilot light or an electric spark igniter. A heat exchanger uses the fire to make warm air, hot water or steam. The waste gas is released through a vent. If the pilot light goes out or the electric igniter stops the thermostat turns the flow of gas off.
An electric furnace is cleaner even than a gas pump because there's no combustion involved in the heating process. However, they are more expensive than either gas or oil furnaces and the house needs to be well insulated for them to work well. An electric furnace is almost always used with a forced air system. Though the filters and blowers need to be cleaned and the wire connections need to be checked periodically, the electric furnace is just about maintenance free. It can also be attached to a heat pump and the central air conditioning.
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