If you live in an area where natural gas is unavailable, an oil-fired furnace may be your best choice for heating of your home. Jeff Stienstra runs Stienstra Heating and Cooling in Hudsonville, Michigan, and explains here how an oil-fired furnace actually works.
Oil-fired furnaces very common in areas where natural gas is unavailable, generally in more rural or mountainous areas, where the cost of piping in natural gas would be too expensive. This allows for flexible installation locations, especially as far as a cottage home or a commercial facility is concerned. That’s why people often prefer oil-fired furnaces especially in agricultural areas, as they are usually set out in the country away from major utilities.
Fuel Ignition Different
The oil-fired equipment operates almost identically to a standard natural gas furnace, with the exception of the way the fuel is ignited. On a call for heat, the fuel oil, which is under high pressure, is pushed through a nozzle to form a fine mist. At the same time, the mist mixes with air and forms a flammable vapor, which is ignited by a spark from the ignition electrode. The spark from the ignition electrode in some models can be as high as 10,000 volts. This powerful electrical spark immediately lights the oil air mixture, causing a strong flame. Once the flame is established, it heats the heat exchanger and flows out through the chimney or the exhaust piping, as in a standard natural gas furnace.
Warm Air Circulation
Once the heat exchanger is heated to a pre-set temperature, the blower fan turns on and circulates that warm air throughout the home. That is the basic operation of the oil-fired furnace, which provides a comfort level of heat comparable to natural gas and propane furnaces.
