How Are Furnaces Installed?
A furnace is installed by attaching it to an exterior wall or building and running gas (Or if you are using Electricity, wires) to it from your home’s main supply. The pipe that carries the flue gases should be attached to the flue outlet on top of the furnace. You will want to get this done with the help of professional furnace installer; having a chimney sweep handle these jobs for you would be helpful. He will plumb in all of these things without causing damage to anything else nearby (such as expensive flooring).
There are three basic kinds of furnaces:
Forced-air systems that blow air into living spaces.
Hot water systems that supply heat through radiators.
Steam systems that use steam produced by the boiler directly heat the house.
Exhaust and venting gases may be vented through a side wall, roof, or chimney, usually by metal piping attached to the furnace. A flue damper must be used to seal the venting system when not in use. It should never be left open while the furnace is in operation since this creates an unsafe condition that may result in fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, or explosion. Furnaces are either equipped with an artificial (manual) or electronic air cleaner, which removes most of the dirt particles floating in the air, leaving you with clean, breathable air. The rest gets filtered by your HVAC unit’s filter, but make sure to replace them on time.
The Basic Procedure for Installing a Furnace
1. Moving the furnace into the space where it will be installed. Holes are cut through floor joists and studs to allow for the installation of ductwork, gas piping, condensate drainpipe if needed; some furnaces may require additional clearance on the sides or rear for air intake.
2. The flue pipe is attached to the top of the furnace chimney outlet (or wall/side termination). Local building codes define clearances around the furnace.
3. Piping (if not integral) or special ductwork is run throughout the house. If existing ducts are too small in diameter, they can be divided with short sections of rigid sheet metal, which can be tied together using U-bends.
4. A plenum is created by extending the furnace sheet metal to create a standard duct junction box that distributes air throughout the house. Duct connections are made with accessible quick-connect/disconnect fittings.
5. The return register in each room is connected to the central system and returns cooled or heated air back to the furnace, where it goes through the filter and is reheated and sent out into the living space again (the flow of return air need not be balanced). The upper register supply vents should be closed off until the wiring of zone valves on heaters is completed. Each room has two joints which allow for flexibility when making final connections at floor level; this will facilitate the removal of grills for future cleaning.