What a Flame Sensor Is and Why It Matters
Scheduling your annual furnace maintenance helps keep your heating system operating up to 30% more efficient and helps extend the life of your furnace. But things can still malfunction, and when they do, you might feel like it’s always something else.
This time it’s your blower, next time it’s your control board. Now your find out the flame sensor has to be replaced.
What is a flame sensor, anyway?
A flame sensor is a crucial safety component on your gas furnace. During the ignition sequence, your gas furnace goes through a process where either a hot surface ignitor or a spark actually ignites the gas. When the gas is ignited, the flame sensor generates a current of electricity. The electricity is measured in micro amps. If the furnace’s control board fails to read the correct level of micro amps, the furnace will quit giving the system fuel to avoid an explosion.
Over time, if the flame sensor is not adequately cleaned, oxidation or carbon buildup can restrict the flame sensor’s ability to operate properly, which can result in a malfunction of the furnace.
The way to diagnose if an unclean flame sensor is causing a furnace malfunction is to take a micro amp draw reading, which a professional furnace technician can provide you. If a dirty flame sensor is the guilty party, the heating expert will clean the sensor with steel wool. If dirt was the sole factor, we will see a significantly higher amp reading. If the reading doesn’t change, the technician will carry on with the heating system repair diagnostic process.
If you aren’t certain your heating equipment is going to outlast these last few weeks of winter, give Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning a call and we’ll come out and give you a full furnace maintenance or a free in-home estimate on a new furnace.
