When purchasing for a brand new furnace, it may be straightforward to solely take into consideration how totally different furnaces can warmth your private home. However what if we advised you that one part in your furnace may have an effect on your consolation year-round?
This part is named a blower motor. And as you start to weigh your furnace choices, it’s essential to grasp how this small part can have an effect on and even improve your consolation and your system’s effectivity.
At Fireplace & Ice, we’ve helped hundreds of house owners customise their HVAC techniques to raised meet their wants. And blower motors will be some of the cost-effective methods to improve your system.
On this article, we’ll cowl the next subjects:
What’s an HVAC Blower Motor?
How Can an HVAC Blower Motor Enhance Consolation & Effectivity?
Varieties of HVAC Blower Motors
Blower Motors & Air Conditioners
HVAC Blower Motor Upkeep
Getting the Most Out of Your HVAC System
What’s an HVAC Blower Motor?
The quick reply: Your HVAC system’s blower motor helps transfer conditioned air out of your furnace, air conditioner, or warmth pump all through your private home year-round.
Your system’s blower motor is an electrical motor housed in your furnace. The blower motor powers your system’s blower fan, additionally positioned within the furnace.
It’s possible you’ll already be accustomed to your blower fan. Many techniques embrace controls in your blower fan in your thermostat. These are usually referred to by both a fan icon or the phrase “fan.”
Usually, thermostats mean you can set your blower fan to run robotically when your system does or to run constantly.
As your HVAC system heats or cools the air, the blower motor and fan power the conditioned air into your private home’s ductwork. The ductwork then delivers the conditioned air into particular person rooms by way of registers.
HVAC Methods Earlier than Blower Motors
Many HVAC techniques these days have blower motors. You additionally might hear these techniques known as forced-air techniques as a result of blower motors power air all through your ductwork and, in the end, your private home.
However forced-air techniques have solely been out there residentially for the reason that Nineteen Thirties. So earlier than we dive into the fashionable conveniences of blower motors, let’s briefly have a look at a precursor to the fashionable furnace: the gravity furnace.
In response to the Worldwide Affiliation of Licensed Dwelling Inspectors, gravity furnaces had been put in between the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. Nonetheless, some older houses should still have this antiquated furnace.
Gravity furnaces bought their title as a result of they depend on gravity to distribute heated air all through a house. In contrast to the fashionable furnace, gravity furnaces had no strategy to power air all through a house. As a substitute, they relied on a elementary precept: heat air rises.
The gravity furnace would burn its gasoline supply—coal, oil, pure fuel, or propane—like a contemporary forced-air furnace. Because the air was heated, it might rise into the ductwork, from which it might journey into particular person areas of the house.
This was an extremely inefficient heating methodology. By some estimates, solely round 50 % of the warmth generated by the gravity furnace went to heating a house. The remaining warmth was vented by the chimney with waste gases.
As compared, fashionable standard-efficiency furnaces are usually a minimum of 80 % environment friendly. And probably the most environment friendly furnaces can attain almost 98 % effectivity.
RELATED: How Environment friendly Is My Furnace? A Full Evaluation
Blower motors aren’t the only purpose fashionable furnaces are considerably extra environment friendly. Within the final century, HVAC producers and the U.S. Division of Power (DOE) have centered on growing effectivity for numerous furnace elements. Nonetheless, blower motors can enhance a furnace’s effectivity and your consolation.
How Can an HVAC Blower Motor Enhance Consolation & Effectivity?
Your system’s blower motor is among the solely HVAC elements that runs year-round. Whether or not it’s sizzling or chilly exterior, your system’s blower motor retains shifting conditioned air all through your private home. However a blower motor might help with extra than simply shifting conditioned air all through your private home.
A couple of extra methods your blower motor and fan assist preserve you comfy embrace:
Even temperature distribution – In contrast to antiquated furnaces, your system can evenly warmth and funky your private home. Different elements additionally have an effect on how your furnace heats your private home or how your air conditioner cools your private home. However your blower motor and fan assist evenly distribute conditioned air all through your private home. This might help preserve temperatures all through your private home extra constant.
Improved air circulation – Whereas your blower motor and fan run, they enhance circulation all through your private home. This additionally helps preserve temperatures constant all through your private home.
Improved air high quality – As your blower motor and fan assist flow into air all through your private home, the air passes by your HVAC filter. The extra typically your blower fan runs, the extra mud and particles are filtered from the air in your house. Some filters can even assist take away allergens and odors.
We at all times advocate that our clients run their blower motors as typically as attainable. While you set your blower fan to “on” as an alternative of “auto” in your thermostat, it will possibly do its job even when your furnace or air conditioner isn’t operating. Which means you get the advantages of even temperature distribution, improved air circulation, and improved air high quality extra typically all through the day.
In some circumstances, operating your blower motor and fan extra ceaselessly can even assist prevent cash on vitality prices. While you keep constant temperatures all through your private home, your furnace or air conditioner usually doesn’t have to run as ceaselessly to achieve your most well-liked temperature.
Nonetheless, this could depend upon different components, together with the dimensions of your HVAC gear and humidity ranges inside your private home. If you happen to discover spikes in vitality prices or uneven temperatures, your HVAC service supplier ought to be capable to assist determine the difficulty.
Varieties of HVAC Blower Motors
Though all blower motors have the identical major perform, there are a number of sorts, a few of which have notable options.
Relying on when your furnace was manufactured, you could have considered one of three forms of blower motors:
We’ll break down the options and advantages of every within the sections beneath.
A Word on Gasoline Valves
Earlier than we break down every kind of blower motor, it’s essential to grasp just a few extra phrases.
With regards to furnaces, two units of terminology are straightforward to confuse: the phrases used for blower motor velocity and the phrases used for fuel valve staging.
Blower motor velocity typically refers back to the variety of velocity settings a blower motor can run at. Some forms of blower motors have a number of velocity settings. This will imply that your system’s fan might run at full velocity, low velocity, or anyplace in between.
Gasoline valve staging refers to how a lot gasoline your furnace makes use of to warmth your private home at a time. Like blower motor velocity, some furnaces can regulate their gasoline output and heating capability to exactly keep a set temperature.
For blower motor speeds, there are usually three choices:
Single-speed – Both on or off
Two-speed – Usually both on, off, or a lower-capacity velocity
Variable-speed – A number of settings between 0% and 100% full velocity
We’ll focus on the professionals and cons of every choice within the sections beneath.
For fuel valve staging, furnaces usually have one of many beneath forms of fuel valves:
Single-stage – Both on or off. This can be a simple heating course of, however single-stage furnaces can wrestle to warmth higher flooring in some circumstances
Two-stage – Usually both on, off, or at a decrease capability. This usually reduces how a lot gasoline a furnace makes use of without delay, particularly on milder days
Modulating – A number of capacities between 0% and 100% full capability. This permits a furnace to always regulate its gasoline consumption, sustaining a set temperature with out utilizing pointless gasoline
Each units of phrases are ceaselessly used throughout in-home estimates, so you could hear mixtures of the above.
Later on this article, we’ll contact on how your blower motor works along with your fuel valve and air conditioner. Nonetheless, should you’d prefer to be taught extra about staging, try this text that breaks down the three staging choices.
PSC Blower Motors
Everlasting split-capacitor (PSC) blower motors had been created with two settings: on or off. That is additionally an instance of a single-speed blower motor.
PSC blower motors are additionally the least environment friendly kind of blower motor on this record. Though a PSC motor additionally helps distribute air all through your private home, it requires extra vitality.
And in contrast to ECM and variable-speed blower motors, PSC motors kick on at full power. This creates extra put on and tear on the PSC motor over time. That is additionally why PSC motors are usually louder than ECM or variable-speed blower motors.
As of 2019, HVAC producers can now not produce furnaces with PSC blower motors on account of DOE laws. Nonetheless, HVAC contractors can nonetheless promote furnaces with PSC blower motors so long as the furnace meets set up pointers.
In case your furnace was put in earlier than or round July 3, 2019, it may have a PSC motor. To verify whether or not it does, check with your proprietor’s guide or communicate along with your HVAC contractor.
ECM Blower Motors
Electronically Commutated Motors (ECM) had been designed to run extra effectively than PSC blower motors. And since July 2019, the DOE has required HVAC producers to make use of ECM as an alternative of PSC blower motors as a part of an initiative to cut back the vitality consumption of HVAC gear.
As we speak, ECMs are used as single-speed and two-speed blower motors. Nonetheless, ECMs permit HVAC contractors to regulate their velocity settings to suit your house.
To be clear, ECMs can’t robotically regulate their settings all through a 0% to 100% vary. However manually adjusting these settings might help optimize ECMs to raised meet your wants.
ECMs will be paired with each single-stage and two-stage fuel valves. In comparison with PSC blower motors, ECMs can enhance consolation and effectivity. ECMs are additionally usually a lot quieter than PSC motors.
With optimized velocity settings, ECMs can change to the suitable velocity setting based mostly in your furnace’s heating output. And should you constantly run your HVAC system’s fan, an ECM might help flow into the air with out creating as a lot of a draft when your furnace isn’t heating your private home.
Regardless of the ruling from the DOE, ECM know-how was out there earlier than 2019. To find out whether or not your system has an ECM motor, check with your furnace’s proprietor’s guide or ask your HVAC contractor.
Variable-Velocity Blower Motors
Variable-speed blower motors are probably the most environment friendly kind of blower motor. In contrast to ECM and PCS blower motors, variable-speed blower motors can robotically regulate their velocity.
Variable-speed blower motors can regulate their velocity from 0% to 100%. Because of this, they have a tendency to run longer than different forms of blower motors.
With this longer runtime, it’s also possible to get the advantages we talked about earlier: extra even temperature distribution, improved air circulation, and improved air high quality.
We usually advocate furnaces with variable-speed blower motors to householders who’ve consolation issues. This usually means they’re trying to remedy an issue when changing their current furnace.
Consolation issues can embrace:
Sizzling and/or chilly spots in particular rooms, areas, or flooring
Allergic reactions and viruses
Stuffy, sizzling rooms throughout summer season
Dry air throughout winter
System noise
RELATED: Understanding Your Consolation Considerations
Furnaces with variable-speed blower motors are usually costlier than furnaces with ECMs. Nonetheless, variable-speed blower motors usually solely enhance the price of a brand new furnace by roughly $100. This will make variable-speed blower motors an economical improve.
For info, try this text that breaks down the professionals and cons of variable-speed blower motors.
Blower Motors & Air Conditioners
Now that you already know extra in regards to the several types of blower motors, let’s focus on how your blower motor determines your cooling choices.
As we talked about, blower motors assist distribute conditioned air all through your private home year-round. Your blower motor have to be suitable along with your air conditioner to make sure your air conditioner can correctly cool your private home.
Like fuel valves, air conditioners even have phases. Air conditioners will be considered one of three choices:
Single-stage
Two-stage
Variable-speed
Basically, an air conditioner’s staging ought to a minimum of match your blower motor’s velocity settings. In any other case, your air conditioner might not be capable to carry out correctly.
So when you’ve got a variable-speed air conditioner, you’ll want a variable-speed blower motor. When you have a two-stage air conditioner, you’ll want a two-speed or variable-speed blower motor. When you have a single-stage air conditioner, you possibly can have any blower motor—single-speed, two-speed or variable-speed.
So long as your blower motor meets the minimal velocity necessities, your air conditioner will be capable to cool your private home because the producer meant. And should you’re on the lookout for added consolation, you possibly can at all times improve your blower motor.
HVAC Blower Motor Upkeep
As with every mechanical part, blower motors can require upkeep. Nonetheless, blower motor upkeep is usually mixed with routine furnace upkeep.
We usually advocate one furnace tune-up every year. Throughout an annual furnace tune-up, your HVAC service supplier ought to test your system’s blower motor and fan to make sure it’s operating correctly.
Your system’s blower fan can also often have to be cleaned. Over time, mud and particles can cowl your system’s blower fan. As an increasing number of mud gathers on the fan, you could discover adjustments in temperatures or air high quality.
Some HVAC upkeep plans cowl gear cleansing. In any other case, you could be charged an additional price to wash your system’s blower motor.
You too can assist keep your system’s blower motor by altering your furnace filter as advisable.
Getting the Most Out of Your HVAC System
Though blower motors aren’t probably the most glamorous part, they’ll pack a punch in relation to upgrading your consolation.
Whether or not you’re changing a furnace or your full system, it’s essential to match your HVAC gear to your wants.
If you happen to’re out there for a brand new furnace, we’d love to grasp your consolation issues and assist customise your HVAC system to fulfill your wants.
Use the zip code lookup beneath to take step one towards your new HVAC system.
Whether you require installation, repair, or maintenance, our technicians will assist you with top-quality service at any time of the day or night. Take comfort in knowing your indoor air quality is the best it can be with MOE heating & cooling services Ontario's solution for heating, air conditioning, and ventilation that’s cooler than the rest.
Contact us to schedule a visit. Our qualified team of technicians, are always ready to help you and guide you for heating and cooling issues. Weather you want to replace an old furnace or install a brand new air conditioner, we are here to help you. Our main office is at Kitchener but we can service most of Ontario's cities
Supply hyperlink
Add Comment