What Is a Heat Exchanger?

Heat exchangers transfer warmth from one medium to another, making them essential components in HVAC systems. While they're crucial for both heating and cooling systems, they play a particularly important role in your furnace.

Without a working heat exchanger, your furnace can't circulate warm air throughout your home. This is why it's worthwhile to learn about this component and how to maintain it. In this blog, we'll cover:

By the end of the article, you'll understand what a heat exchanger is, as well as how to diagnose and prevent common heat exchanger issues.

Think of a heat exchanger like a car radiator. A radiator uses coolant to absorb excess heat and then dissipate it into the air, while an air conditioner's heat exchanger uses refrigerant.

The process is reversed in a furnace, with the heat exchanger absorbing heat generated by combustion or an electric element. Air blown across the heat exchanger then carries that warmth throughout your home.

Now that you know what a heat exchanger in a furnace is, it's important to be aware of common maintenance issues that can arise. These include:

• Corrosion
• Blockages
• Warping
• Cracks

Corrosion occurs due to moisture in the air. Over time, it wears through the metal in your furnace's heat exchanger, leading to small holes that allow gas to escape. This reduces efficiency and can even cause carbon monoxide leaks.

Blockages, on the other hand, occur when dirt or soot buildup limits airflow. You can usually spot the signs of corrosion or a blockage visually.

While examining the heat exchanger, you should also look for warping or cracks. While small distortions reduce heating efficiency, large cracks may cause your furnace to blow cold air by forcing a safety shutdown.

Other signs of a cracked heat exchanger include strange sounds such as:

• Rattling or clanging
• Buzzing or humming
• Squeaking or squealing
• Banging or popping

When your furnace struggles to transfer heat into the air, whether due to heat exchanger blockages or damage, it has to work harder to regulate your home's temperature. This increases energy use, causing your HVAC system to run inefficiently.

Fortunately, a combination of DIY and professional heater maintenance can help prevent efficiency loss and keep your energy bills down. A skilled HVAC technician can spot damage before it worsens, avoiding the need for more costly repairs or a replacement.

The best way to maintain your heat exchanger is to get annual professional tune-ups. However, you can also do some things yourself between technician visits, including:

• Cleaning HVAC air filters and vents to limit debris entering the system
• Vacuuming your home often to reduce overall dust levels
• Monitoring your HVAC system for any strange noises
• Installing and checking carbon monoxide detectors
• Optimizing the humidity level throughout your home to reduce corrosion

If you suspect an issue with your heat exchanger, give us a call ASAP. Ignoring the problem can eventually cause your HVAC system to fail.