What a Flame Sensor Is and Why It Matters
Setting up your annual furnace maintenance helps keep your heating equipment running up to 30% more efficient and helps extend the life of your furnace. But things can still stop working, and when they do, you might feel like there is always something else.
This time it’s your blower, next time it’s your pressure switch. Now you have to have your flame sensor replaced.
What is a flame sensor, anyway?
A flame sensor is a crucial safety component on your gas heating equipment. During the ignition cycle, your gas furnace enters a process where either a hot surface ignitor or a spark actually ignites the gas. When the gas is ignited, the flame sensor produces a current of electricity. This is calculated in micro amps. If the furnace’s control board does not read the right level of micro amps, the furnace will stop giving the system fuel to prevent an explosion.
Over time, if the flame sensor is not cleaned properly, oxidation or carbon buildup can impede the flame sensor’s ability to work properly, which can result in a malfunction of the furnace.
The way to determine if a dirty flame sensor is to blame for a furnace malfunction is to take a micro amp draw reading, which an expert furnace technician can give you. If a dirty flame sensor is the offender, the furnace expert will clean the sensor with steel wool. If dirt was the single factor, we will see a significantly higher amp reading. If the reading shows no change, the technician will proceed with the heating system repair diagnostic process.
If you aren’t confident your furnace is going to outlast these last few weeks of winter, give Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning a call and we’ll come out and perform a full furnace maintenance or a complimentary in-home estimate on a new HVAC system.
