Your home’s furnace involves a complex
combination of electricity, heating oil or natural gas, steam, water, metal
parts, and other important components. The furnace, after all, is certainly not
a simple appliance and giving your heating system the proper
care and attention it deserves can avoid dangerous issues from arising, such as
a harmful or deadly explosion, to protect your family and your home.
In other words, yes—your furnace can
explode, which is why regular maintenance is so important. Knowing when it’s
time for a furnace repair
or a furnace replacement
can also help to prevent furnace explosion and other risks.
It’s also important to be
able to recognize when your furnace needs quick and
immediate attention. In this article, our experts from Happy Home Heating &
Cooling will share with you some of the warning signs that your furnace may
explode, and other deadly risks that come from a faulty furnace, such as a
carbon monoxide leak.
Common Warning Signs of Furnace Explosion
and Other Risks
While professional, regular maintenance of
your furnace is always a must, knowing what to look for when evaluating your
home’s unit is one of the best ways to avoid a dangerous situation. Here are some of the most common warning signs of
furnace explosions and other deadly risks:
- For homeowners with gas furnaces, pay
attention to any unexplained and sudden smells of gas inside your home. The
smell of gas fumes can be an indication of a fuel leak. In the case that you do
smell fumes, get out immediately and don’t try to inspect the situation on your
own. It is too dangerous that simply operating an electric appliance or turning
on a switch could trigger the explosion. Once you’re out of the house, contact
your local fire department and the gas company.
- Because your furnace
needs to produce high temperatures to keep the house warm, and it involves some
sort of fuel to work, the excessive heat combined with the fuel can produce
fire in some unfortunate instances. Aside from having it inspected for problems
or getting a furnace
replacement for your old, worn-out furnace, it is also important to keep
gasoline and other combustibles away from your heating systems.
- For those with forced hot
air heating, it is recommended not to close more than a fifth of the registers
(the covers of the air ducts that transport air into a room) when the heat is
on. Closing the registers too far can lead to excessive heat buildup in the
furnace, which may eventually lead to an explosion. - Most furnaces involve
burning fuel to produce heat. Hence, they also generate carbon monoxide, which
is a deadly odorless gas. Oil
furnaces or any other types of furnaces
can sometimes develop cracks, especially when they’re old. These cracks will
then allow carbon monoxide to escape into the house instead of being vented out
of the house.
In order to avoid the
dangers of a carbon monoxide leak, it is important to install a carbon monoxide
alarm for each floor of the house. It is recommended to install these alarms
away from the kitchen, heating vents, and other appliances that burn fuel.
The Most Effective Way to Prevent Furnace
Explosions
If your furnace is already more than 10 to
15 years old, you are not only at a greater risk of furnace explosion but may also experience lower
efficiency. For homeowners with older furnaces, new furnace installation is a good idea and should be
at the top of your list of priorities when contemplating home
improvement projects.
Happy Home Heating & Cooling provides
high-quality furnace
replacement and oil
furnaces, gas
furnaces, and other types of heating systems for homeowners in Cary,
North Carolina, and the surrounding
areas. Our industry-leading furnace products offer innovative safety features,
like automatic shut-off functions in dangerous situations, to prevent
explosions and other risks.
Aside from installing new furnaces, our
licensed experts can also perform furnace repair and safety evaluations for your home. For more
information on furnace safety for your household, or questions about our
premium heating and air-conditioning products, give us a call now or fill out
our online form to receive a free, in-home, no-obligation pricing estimate.
