Parts adapted from Stonearmor
Living in Alberta, you may not have central air or a system that combines both heating and cooling in the same unit. Many of us typically run a furnace for heating in the winter and use portable or window air conditioning units and fans for cooling the home in the summer. You might be surprised to learn that your furnace may be used to cool your home even if you do not have an air conditioner. Your home will not cool as much as with air conditioning but some is better than none.
How the Furnace Works – the burner on your furnace heats the air with a flame. The hot air is then forced through the ducts via a fan that comes on once the air is heated. This forces warmed air to all areas of your home. A cold air return sucks in fresh air to continue the process as your furnace kicks on and off as dictated by the thermostat. Once the burner turns off, the fan continues to blow until the unit cools and all the warm air is extinguished. The fan typically has three settings, on, off and automatic. You probably run your fan on automatic so that it comes on when the air is warm and shuts off when the air is cool. Depending on your furnace, you may be able to use its blower to circulate air even when you are not running the furnace.
Circulating Cool Air – with some furnaces, outside of the heating season, you can set the fan to the on position to circulate cool air in the home. The furnace unit draws air into the unit and circulates it through the duct work to all areas of the home. The air is not chilled by air conditioning, but it creates a breeze that works by the windchill principle to cool you off. This works best if the cold air return of your furnace is located in a cool basement or other cool area. Pulling the air back to the basement where the concrete slab remains cool actually cools the air off as the concrete absorbs some of the heat. For furnaces located in rooms with a window, you can take advantage of the window to create more airflow (careful though about pulling in smoky air from forest fires). When the fan is turned on it will draw fresh air from the outside and circulate it through the home. Turning the fan on in the evening after a hot day and opening the window to let in cool air will cool the home off quickly. Circulating air with the blower fan on your furnace also evens out the air temperature throughout your home cooling rooms on upper levels.
Effects on the Motor – some worry that running the fan continuously puts too much work on the motor and will wear out the blower fan. Majority of the wear and tear is actually experienced from stopping and starting of the fan, thus running the fan continuously may actually not affect the life of the fan motor.
When hot weather strikes and your home begins to heat up to uncomfortable levels, try switching on the blower fan to your furnace to circulate air and make your home feel more comfortable. The blower on your furnace can also be used in conjunction with a window air conditioning unit to assist in circulating the cooled air throughout the house.
Depending on your furnace system, switching on the fan can be done at the furnace or at your thermostat. If this functionality does not exist in your home, call your trusted heating and indoor comfort expert to help modify your system.
By Carla Berezowski,
Alberta Indoor Comfort
