Electrically Ignited Pilots in Furnaces

Standing pilot lights are quickly becoming obsolete. A standing pilot light presents fire and carbon monoxide dangers along with wasting gas. Electrical furnace starters are now standard on all high efficiency Denver heaters. With electric ignition, your furnace only uses energy when it needs it. This by itself can increase your SEER rating significantly.

The really modern systems light the burners directly. This is called hot surface furnace ignition. This means that when the thermostat calls for heat, a hot igniter above the burners heats up and then ignites the gas when it is released. Other models electrically ignite a pilot whenever heat is needed. Not only furnaces, but any kind of heater using gas flame can benefit from electronic ignition. Denver HVAC companies install electric ignition systems in boilers and water heaters as well.

An important part of the ignition system is proving the pilot or burner flame is lit. The whole system fails if the solid state controls do not know if the burner is on or not. The fail safe will shut down the system if the sensors do not sense a flame. This is because it is dangerous to leave the flame burning without regulation. It is also to prevent the heater from spewing un-ignited gas into the building. If you smell gas or your furnace has shut off unexpectedly, call a Denver furnace repairs company immediately.

Often the flame sensor is just fowled with residue and once cleaned by a HVAC tech it will operate normally. However this system is still much more reliable than a standing pilot furnace. These pilot lights blow out and need to be re-lighted manually. This defeats the purpose of the pilot being lit all the time.

Along with electronic ignition, two other ways to get the most out of your heating fuel are to get air handlers with built in induction blowers, and condensing heat exchangers. The blower forces air into the combustion chamber, which aids in both combustion and exhaust of gases. The condenser is an additional heat exchanger that takes the heat out of the water vapor byproduct of natural gas combustion. These devices save energy and also increase the air quality of the home.