Easy tips to check your heating system

Well, here we are. In the last few weeks you and I have been “walking” through this theoretical house, looking at things together and comparing notes. We want to see if we are on the same page or maybe there is “double vision.”

In the past visits, we looked at the property, exterior of the house, foundation and the rough carpentry wood framing. This week we go inside the house and we will share observations on the mechanical systems. That includes the heating, plumbing and electrical.

Let’s start with the heating system.

There are many types of heating systems from solar to geo-thermal, to old coal burning, to hot water and to gas forced-air furnaces. Today, by far, the majority of existing and newer homes built have the gas forced-air system. Due to time and space restraints, we will discuss today the most popular, which is gas forced air. Remember, all heating systems are similar in these important areas. They have a source of heat, have a method of distributing the heat and that operation has to be efficient.

As we go along, we have been addressing our past observations in the order of construction. The installation of the heat system, however, is done in three phases.

First, all of the duct work and cold air return provisions are installed, then the furnace and finally all of the finish items (registers, thermostat and clean filter).

Once we are finally inside the house, there is a preferred order for the trades to perform. The first trade should be the heat man with his duct work. The reason for this is the large duct work is the most difficult to get through the wood framing. Let’s say that the plumber gets into the house before the heat man and runs all the water and sewer pipes. It now just makes it more difficult for the heat man to get his pipes in so that they are the most efficient.

One of the first things I look for in the basement is how the duct work appears overall. Is it running up in the spaces between the floor joists above the ceiling level? Are there minimal elbows and heat jumps from one space to another? When looking at the basement ceiling, visualize yourself finishing off the area with a suspended ceiling. Will you be able to run a nice continuous flat ceiling or will you have to put a drop here and drop there, etc.? If the duct work is up, secure, has minimal drops, it not only means that this is a good heat contractor, but also the job was being nicely scheduled and supervised by the builder.

Can we look inside one of the basement registers and see how clean the inside of the pipes are? Personally, I have seen not only dust and cobwebs, but feathers, dead mice, old dog food, insects, feces and once I found hidden drugs. Getting duct work professionally cleaned is a health concern, but is not cheap.

How does the furnace look? Can you find out from a “sellers disclosure” how old the unit is? The average gas forced-air furnace has approximately a 20- to 25-year life expectancy. If it was replaced 10 years ago, then it is at its mid-life status, but I have seen them needing replacement in seven years with others that are 35 years old and still running efficiently.

If possible, in a very still environment, I try to observe the burner flames when the fan of the furnace turns on. The flames should not flutter, move around, change color or show any other irregularity. If the flames change, it could indicate that the interior heat exchanger has a crack, opening or flaw and could be leaking carbon monoxide into the duct work and throughout the house.

You also should check the condition of the furnace chassis to see if there is any rust (especially near the floor level), dents or “hot spots.” Is the vent pipe secure, pitched and showing no openings? How clean is the interior when you open the furnace door? Does the furnace vibrate or does the fan make excessive noise? Is there adequate airflow through the heat registers, especially important where any of the duct work runs under concrete floors? Do all the heat run openings have functional registers? Are the hot air registers operable? Is the furnace centrally located in the house so as to discharge equally in all directions? Do the heat runs have dampers so you can adjust the airflow and balance the heat throughout the house? Is the furnace located in an area away from combustibles? Are any upgrade features (humidifier, programmable thermostat, upgrade air filters) functional? Here is a big item. Do all the rooms have a heat source? If the house was built after the 1940s, each room should also have a cold air return instead of just having one big cold air return at a central location in the house. Having a cold air return in each room allows heat to enter and cold air to leave, creates air circulation and makes the heating process much more efficient overall.

Incidentally, in my opinion, the house’s insulation package, which is an independent system, is actually a part of the heating and cooling capability of the house. It is important to remember that approximately 70 percent of heat loss goes up through the attic, 20 percent goes through the doors or windows and 9 percent through the outside walls. With the energy costs today, this is an important fact to consider when evaluating the heating system. The amount of wall insulation is difficult to determine. Doors and windows are easy to evaluate, but expensive to update. Attics are easy to access, are the most important and are economical to update.

Do you look at all of these items and issues or do we once again have “double vision?”

Next week we jump into the plumbing system.

Mitchell Kuffa Jr. is a licensed builder and home inspector in St. Clair. Contact him at InspectionsbyMJK@comcast.net or call (810) 329-4052.