Furnaces and Boilers | Northern Heating and Air

Furnace Installation

Professional Furnace Installation, Maintenance & Repair

When it comes to repairing and providing maintenance or furnace installation in Glens Falls, Lake George, Saratoga or Clifton Park, you can rest assured that your investment will be protected when you use Northern Heating and Air for all of your home heating service needs.

A home furnace is a major appliance that is permanently installed to provide heat to an interior space through intermediary fluid movement, which may be air, steam, or hot water. The most common fuel source for modern combustion furnaces in the United States is natural gas; other common fuel sources include propane (LP) and fuel oil. Combustion furnaces always need to be vented to the outside. Traditionally, this is through a flue, which expels heat along with the exhaust.

Tecnician repairing a furnace

Central Heating Systems

A central warm-air furnace is a type of space-heating equipment in which a central combustor or resistance unit–generally using gas, fuel oil, or electricity–provides warm air that circulates through ducts leading to the various rooms.

  • A forced-air furnace is one in which a fan is used to force the air through the ducts.
  • In a gravity furnace, air is circulated by gravity, relying on the natural flow of warm air up and cold air down; the warm air rises through ducts and the cold air falls through ducts that return it to the furnace to be reheated, thus completing the circulation cycle.
The furnace typically is divided into three primary components:

The burner (includes the heat exchanger, draft inducer and venting)
The flame originates at the burners and is drawn into the heat exchanger by the negative pressure produced by the draft inducer. The hot gasses produced by the combustion of the flame pass through the chambers of the heat exchanger and heat the metal walls of the heat exchanger. The gasses cool as they transfer the heat to the heat exchanger and are at about 120 degrees as they exit on a high efficiency furnace. The cooled gasses then enter the draft inducer blower and are pushed into the venting pipes. The exhaust gasses then are directed out of the house through the vent pipes.

The blower and air movement
The blower creates a negative pressure on the intake side which draws air into the ductwork return air system and blows the air out through the heat exchanger and then into supply air ductwork to distribute throughout the home.
Controls and Safety Devices
The controls include a gas valve, ignition control, ignitor, flame sensor, transformer, limit control, blower control board, and flame roll out switch. A limit control is a safety device that will open the electrical circuit to the ignition control and stop the gas flow if the furnace over heats. The flame roll out switch does the same thing if the flame was rolling out of the heat exchanger instead of being completely induced into it by the draft inducer.

Northern Heating and Air home heating services in Queensbury, Glens Falls, Saratoga and Clifton Park provide your family with comfortable, reliable warmth for your home or business! Request your appointment online today or call (518) 745-0401 and experience the most reliable central heating and furnace installations, home heating service and repair in the region!

furnace

Boiler Installation

High Efficiency Boiler Repair, Maintenance & Installation

Most heating systems that employ “radiant” heat are propelled by a boiler – they are critical to the proper and efficient operation of many home heating systems. We are the experts to call when you need a high efficiency boiler system installation, or when you need boiler repairs from Queensbury to Lake George, Saratoga Springs to Clifton Park.

Contact Northern Heating and Air at (518) 745-0401 to schedule an appointment or for more information on high efficiency boiler installation and repair.

What is a Boiler?

A boiler is a natural gas, oil, propane or solid-fuel-burning appliance that produces hot water or steam which is circulated through pipes to heat-radiating devices in a room. Most homes in the United States are heated with either furnaces or boilers. The process that uses boilers to heat the home is called hydronics.

Boilers heat water, providing either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed via pipes to steam radiators, and hot water can be distributed via baseboard radiators or radiant floor systems, or can heat air via a coil. Steam boilers operate at a higher temperature than hot water boilers, and are inherently less efficient, but high-efficiency versions of all types of furnaces and boilers are currently available.

Boiler

Why Install a Boiler System?

Hydronic systems offer a host of advantages not found in other types of home comfort systems. Of all natural materials for conducting heat, water is best. Temperature changes of water can be accurately controlled and measured, so there is less “over-shooting” of thermostat settings and less wasted heat. And today’s compact boilers, with improved heat-transfer technology, high-efficiency burners and electronic controls are 30 to 40 percent more efficient than boilers installed just ten years ago.

High Efficiency Boiler Systems

If your boiler is old, worn out, inefficient, or significantly oversized, the simplest solution is to replace it with a modern high-efficiency model. Old coal burners that were switched over to oil or gas are prime candidates for replacement. Newer systems may be more efficient but are still likely to be oversized, and can often be modified to lower their operating capacity.

A central boiler’s efficiency is measured by the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). The Federal Trade Commission requires new boilers to display their AFUE so consumers can compare heating efficiencies of various models. AFUE is a measure of how efficient the appliance is in the energy in its fuel over the course of a typical year.

Book an appointment with Northern Heating and Air for professional service and boiler installation. Queensbury, Glens Falls, Lake George, Saratoga Springs homeowners rely on our team for high efficiency boiler installation, repair, and maintenance.