History of the World----Part 1

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Outofdodge

Someone else can write a three day three part post on that. My knowledge of cooling/heating systems is change the filter and call the service guy.

[lurker]

The burner manifold ignites and releases heat into a heat exchanger. Inside air is circulated through the heat exchanger, removing heat and passing it into your house. There is a balance that must be maintained. If the flow of this inside air through the heat exchanger is reduced, then the heat exchanger will overheat and begin to deteriorate. However, a high temperature switch should tell the burner gas valve to shut off the gas and stop the burning but you won't have a comfortable house.

[K C Muffin]

The last time the guy came to change the filter, I must have drawn a newbie straight out of HVAC school. He took me to the basement, where the furnace and humidifier are and showed me (now, we've lived in this new house for 7 years.....)there is a lever that should be moved at the end of winter and at the end of summer. It automatically shuts off vent systems (not just individual vents in the rooms) during those times. I suppose that would be the 2nd floor in the winter (the downstairs warm air should rise) and it would be the 1st floor in the summer (the floors in our 1st floor are usually cool from the basement). I did NOT know that! We've been shutting vents off in certain unused rooms since we lived here. Our bill dropped the following month by about $50. I credit the HVAC guy for telling me how to regulate the temp. Now, there's no uncomfortable room - before I couldn't sit in the living room without freezing to death (hubby was comfy, though). Maybe you have something like that in your house. It was way up in the top part of the furnace.

[lurker]

I'm thinkin that lever switched the location where the unit's return air comes from. In the winter you want the cooler air to go to the furnace, so that would be lower. In the summer you want to re-cool the warmer air that's in the upper region of your house.

[K C Muffin]

You're probly right - I don't care WHY it works, I just care that it finally DOES! I've hated the A/C in this house since we lived here. Now it's comfy to sit in the living room without my coat!