When you’re getting a new furnace, there’s a lot to think about. You need to plan and budget, do some research, and decide which type of furnace to get. After all that thinking and planning, you might be at your wit’s end when it finally comes to the most important aspect of furnace installation: the installation process itself.
Unfortunately, all that planning won’t matter if you choose an amateur or a DIY installation. The most important day in a furnace’s lifespan is the day that it’s installed. Let’s go over the long list of things that can go wrong if a furnace isn’t properly installed.
1. Improperly Sizing the Furnace
Sizing a furnace is a complicated process that takes into account many different factors. That’s why you need to let a professional HVAC team size it. When a furnace is either too small or too big for your home, many problems will result. Let’s explain.
Furnaces are designed to operate in cycles, putting out a certain amount of heat over a certain period to properly warm a space. Cutting a cycle short, or making it run too long, harms the system in several ways.
The problem with an oversized furnace (one that’s too large for your home) is that it puts out too much heat for the space, which causes the thermostat to shut the system down early. This puts extreme strain on the furnace, which will eventually cause it to break down.
On the other hand, an undersized furnace will not be able to generate sufficient heat to get your home to a comfortable temperature. As it tries to reach the temperature on the thermostat, the furnace will stay on for far longer than it is designed to. This puts just as much stress on the system as if it were oversized, with the same result.
Unless a furnace is properly sized, you’ll have to replace it much sooner. And that’s an experience—and an expense—no homeowner should have to suffer through.
2. Ignoring Safety Guidelines
It doesn’t matter if you choose a gas or an electric furnace: you run the risk of safety issues if a gas or an electric furnace is improperly installed. Gas furnaces pose the greatest concern because of the risk of gas and carbon monoxide (CO) leaks if the connections to gas lines aren’t properly secured.
CO poisoning is a legitimate concern which is why you should have CO monitors if you have a gas furnace. With electric furnaces, improper installation can pose a fire hazard if there are installation issues. Always hire a licensed and insured HVAC contractor when it comes to furnace installation.
3. Improper Ductwork Connections
The “V” in HVAC stands for ventilation. It’s included because of how essential your home’s ductwork is to the operation of a furnace. A furnace installation usually requires adaptations to allow the new furnace to fit with your existing ductwork. If it’s not properly connected to the ducts, it won’t matter how new and powerful your furnace is. If the distribution method is thwarted from the start, the heat it generates won’t reach the rooms of your home.
4. Use of Wrong Materials
Many amateur HVAC installers will take shortcuts to provide an installation estimate that seems too good to be true. One of the ways they can reduce installation costs is by using cheap and shoddy materials during installation. The use of low-quality materials will result in your furnace needing repairs down the road. The last thing you want to do is cut corners on installation costs when your furnace cost a lot to begin with.
At Hagerstown Heating & Cooling, we want to protect customers from Google and other contractors in Hagerstown, MD. Honesty at Its Best.