Several types of furnaces can be used to heat your home and they all work slightly differently from each other. Electric furnaces in particular are an eco-friendly option, but cost considerably more to run than their gas counterparts.
In this article, we’ll be explaining how exactly electric furnaces work, as well as their benefits and drawbacks.
Furnaces for homes and buildings vs. industrial furnaces
Furnaces deliver heat to homes and buildings by blowing heated air through various ducts. The heat energy produced differs depending on the type of furnace you choose and can be generated through fuel combustion, oil, electricity, and other means.
When choosing your furnace, you must consider the cost of the furnace, the cost of the fuel, venting requirements and efficiency regulations. Electric furnaces can be viewed as the more premium choice due to the costs associated, but they are considered safer than gas and oil alternatives.
Industrial furnaces use fuel and combustion gases to heat materials. Due to the nature of the application, their goal is to attain a high level of heat. When selecting an industrial furnace, the range of operating temperatures should be considered first. It must meet the temperatures you need consistently and efficiently.
How do they work?
An electric furnace works similarly to a conventional gas-operated furnace, but instead, it produces heat using electric heating elements rather than gas burners. Heating elements are controlled by circuit breakers, which may be on the inside or outside of the cabinet.
It features a blower that draws air into the cabinet through a cold-air return. This air is then pushed through the heat exchanger, in which the electric heating elements will heat it. After this, the blower will push the warm air back into the desired rooms through a duct system.
A variable transformer may be used to increase or decrease the voltage of the alternating current (AC) to make it suitable for use in your electric furnace.
Pros and cons of electric furnaces
There are several pros to using an electric furnace. Firstly, they don’t produce carbon monoxide, meaning the heating system is significantly better for the planet than gas-operated furnaces.
They’re also easier to install, simply because there is no flue required to remove the produced gases from your home. And, as all of the electricity produced is used to heat your home, this makes this type of furnace 100% efficient.
However, one of the main cons to using an electric furnace is the cost to run it. Electricity is typically more expensive than gas, and while it may not seem it, the costs can certainly add up over time. Plus, if the electricity were to cut out in your home, so would your heat source.
