A forced air furnace is the norm for homes and businesses in the Twin Cities and much of North America. This is because they work so well at providing comfortable heating to entire homes or buildings, and do it relatively economically.
How a Forced Air Furnace Works
Forced air furnaces rely on thermostats to maintain a desired, set temperature in your home. When room temperature drops 
below the temperature setting, the furnace turns on and draws indoor air into the cold air return. The cold air then travels through a system of ducts to the furnace’s heat exchanger, where the blower fan pushes the air over the burners in the heating element. Right before this step, the air will be directed through a filter to remove particulates of dust and other debris. Any fumes or exhaust created in the combustion process in the more common gas- or oil-fueled furnace are vented outdoors, either through the roof or an exterior wall. Electric furnaces, much less common, would skip this step.
Meanwhile, the heated air is blown back into the ductwork and then into individual rooms through heat registers, which can be adjusted individually to control air flow. In this way, a forced air furnace circulates warm air throughout your home. Due to home-specific factors related to sizing, as well as safety issues, though, it’s imperative to consult an expert before buying a new furnace.
The Benefits of Forced Air Furnaces
A forced air furnace does require regular long-term maintenance, including the changing of dirty air filters and maintenance of ductwork and heating elements. Still, they are popular because of the following advantages:
- A forced air furnace, when sized and maintained properly, quickly provides relatively uniform heating from room to room.
- They are highly efficient at controlling the temperature of an entire home.
- They are relatively easy to install.
- A humidifier, air filtration unit and air conditioning can be easily added.
In short, forced air furnaces are popular because they are reliable, efficient and overall effective in maintaining home comfort. And while the gas- and oil-fueled varieties are subject to fluctuating gas and oil costs, those costs are especially low nowadays for natural gas, making heating with a gas furnace among the cheapest options for keeping your home warm.
For more questions about forced air furnaces, as well as expert advice on the regular maintenance that they require, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We are proud to have served the Twin Cities metropolitan area for almost 40 years and will apply that hard-earned experience in serving you today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about forced air furnaces and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock