One of the many things we check on our service calls is system air flow. Air flow is critical to a long lasting air conditioner and furnace.
Inside your gas furnace is a heat exchanger. The flame shoots inside the heat exchanger and the fan blows air across the outside. If the air flow is insufficient, the heat exchanger becomes too hot. This excess heat stresses the metal. Over time, this stress leads to cracks in the heat exchanger. That is a fire and carbon monoxide hazard. By law, we are required to disable and tag a furnace with a cracked heat exchanger until the furnace is repaired or replaced.
What about the cooling side? Above your furnace is an air conditioning coil. Refrigerant (you may call it freon) flows inside the coil. The furnace fan blows air across the coil to cool the air and your home. When the air is cooled, heat is being transferred to the refrigerant. We need enough heat added to the refrigerant to boil all of it because the compressor in the air conditioner is designed to only pump gas (completely boiled refrigerant). If there is any liquid, compressor damage will occur.
In summary, proper air flow is important to both the heating and cooling sides of your HVAC system. There’s nothing more important during the design and installation of your system. Proper air flow ensures a long lasting system.
VanKleef Heating and Air Conditioning 812-280-0510