Winter is almost done. Finally, you can give your furnace a break and let it rest for a few months. Before you do that, make sure that you get in touch with a trusted furnace company to give it a thorough inspection for any issues that could have arisen this winter. You would want to take good care of your furnace as it is an important part of your house.
Why are furnaces important?
Furnaces play a vital role at home because it is the primary equipment that pumps hot air into every part of the house, making it warm and comfortable. It is handy during colder seasons, especially this past winter. We saw some really unusual snowfall and winter chills in different parts of the country, just like the recent winter storm in Texas. Just imagine if a home did not have a furnace during that terrible storm.
We cannot stress enough how important a furnace is at home, which is why you should make sure that your heating equipment at your house is well-maintained and working properly at all times.
What Most People Don’t Know About Furnaces
We all know what furnaces are and how important they are to our houses. But there are also a few interesting things about them that most folks aren’t aware of.
Check out this list of things most people don’t know about furnaces.
- Furnace installation is regulated by both the local and federal governments. Although the furnaces have become increasingly safe over centuries, there is still a certain level of danger involved if they are not properly installed or maintained.
- They keep your pipes from being frozen. When water pipes are turned off during the winter seasons, furnaces provide the heat to keep your pipes warm and prevent your water line from freezing and getting destroyed.
- Air moves through the building by what is known as the Stack Effect. The Stack Effect principle, also called the Chimney Effect, controls air movement into and around a building that helps increase energy efficiency and savings.
- The term “furnace” has a different meaning in the U.K. Just because both the U.S. and U.K speak English doesn’t mean that there are no language barriers. What we know as a furnace in the U.S, the Brits call central heating. They know that a furnace in the U.K. is equivalent to what we know as a blast furnace stateside.
- The word “furnace” has a Latin origin. The word is derived from the term fornax, which means oven in Latin.
- The two most common home heating systems are powered by gas and electricity. Other than these two, the other reliable home heating sources are propane, kerosene, and wood, which are found in 15% of residential properties across the country.
- Natural gas has no odor. If you notice the smell of rotten eggs whenever you smell natural gas, it is because energy companies decided to add a.specific odor as a safety measure. The smell immediately warns inhabitants of leaks in their gas line, which can then be addressed promptly.
- Automobile maker Ford was the first motor company to install dash-mounted gas heaters in their cars. Developed in 1933, these devices were built like boilers that provided about 3,250 sq cm of heated surface in Ford V8 cars.
- Indoor heating systems were first created by the Romans. In 1200 B.C., the Romans were the first to utilize a system that provided indoor heating using “hypocaust,” a heating system that allowed heated air to pass through the cracks and spaces beneath floors and exit through pipes.
- One of the top 10 things that cause house fires is space heaters. Exercise caution when using a space heater. Make sure that it is clear of clutter. A distance of about 3 to 4 feet from any object or water source should be maintained, and it should never be left unsupervised.
- Heating takes about 30% of the average American home energy consumption. In other homes, heating and air conditioning can go as high as 46%.
- Philadelphia Gas Works is the first natural gas company in the country owned by a municipality. The company, founded in 1836, is the largest public gas system provider in the U.S. that has been in operation the longest.
- A furnace generally lasts only about 20 years. The longer and the more used (or abused) it is, the lesser the efficiency you will get as time goes by.
- England is the first country to have a steam-heating system. The Bank of England’s governor wanted a way to provide heat to the grapes he is growing throughout the year, which led to the invention of a heating system using steam.
- There are over 300,000 miles of pipeline in the U.S. alone. If you put together all of the pipelines in the U.S. from end to end, you can reach the moon and even go beyond it.
I bet you didn’t know most of these things, huh? Cool, right? Did we miss other interesting tidbits and fun facts about furnaces? If you know a few that weren’t included on this list, share them with us in the comments section below.
