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The forced air system in your greater Cincinnati home is made up of a number of parts that all have to work together in order to maintain home comfort levels. The furnace and air conditioner are just the start. Here are other important components that are likely a part of your home’s HVAC system:

Ducts and Vents

All air circulates through the house from the air conditioner or furnace through passageways built particularly for the purpose. Known as ducts, they run through every room of the house and are typically made of galvanized metal. Openings in the ducts called vents allow heated or cooled air to pass into and out of the room.

Thermostat

The thermostat is one of the most visible parts of an HVAC system. It’s the little item on the wall where you set your desired indoor temperature. This unit senses the current room temperature and then signals the furnace to turn on or off as needed.  Some houses have only one thermostat, while others may have multiple thermostats t accommodate multiple heating or cooling “zones” in the house.

Heat Exchanger

Whenever the furnace turns on, cool air is sucked into the unit. The heat exchanger is the part of the furnace that actually heats the air before it’s blown into the ducts to warm the house. This may be done over an actual flame, or it may be heated electrical coils.

Condensing Unit

When the house gets too warm, the thermostat triggers the condensing unit, which is the part of an air conditioning system that’s placed outside the building. This unit exchanges heat with the outside air, then the gas is compressed into liquid and sent through refrigerant lines to the evaporator coil. Air chills in the evaporator coil as the heat there exchanges with the refrigerant, and the refrigerant – now back in gaseous form – returns to the condenser unit.

Contact us at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling and Plumbing today for more information on your HVAC system and how it works.

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