Guide to Staged Electric Furnace Heaters InspectAPedia® -
What are staged electric furnaces and heaters? How do they work?
How to wire, diagnose, and repair electric heaters & furnaces
How to buy, install, inspect and diagnose each type of electric heat in buildings
Electric heat choices, electric heat wiring and installation tips and safety suggestions
InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.
Here we define staged electric furnaces that use sequencers to turn on and off individual heating elements. This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice.
Heating safety hazards such as carbon monoxide gas leaks, unsafe furnaces, furnace and boiler recalls are addressed. If you don't know what kind of heat your building uses, we explain how to figure out the answer at HEATING SYSTEM TYPES. Sketch at page top courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Staged Electric Furnaces Using Sequencers to Control Heat
For economy, as Carson Dunlop's sketch shows, electric furnaces often use a gang of electric heating elements that are turned on in stages rather than all at once.
As temperatures fall and more heat is needed in the building, more heating stages turn on.
By leaving individual heating elements (heating stages) turned off when not needed, we reduce electrical consumption and thus we cut the building's heating cost.
On a staged electric heating furnace each heating stage typically provides about 5,000 watts (5KW) of heating energy.
The fan limit switch that controls an electric furnace may have a built-in delay so that on a call for heat the blower fan won't turn on until the heating element(s) have warmed up.
We discuss fan limit switches in more detail at FAN LIMIT SWITCH
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Electric Heating System Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles
Air Duct Systems for Heating & Cooling - duct defects, inspections, repairs, duct cleaning, flooded ducts, leaky air ducts, moldy duct systems, indoor air quality
Heating Cost Reduction Advice: How to Save on Home Heating Costs - Book Review & Actual Heating Savings and Energy Savings Tips for homeowners and service technicians
Heating Loss Diagnosis: How to diagnose loss of heat, when the oil burner, boiler, or furnace won't run, or when the system runs but heat is not delivered to the living area
Odors From Heating Systems - a list of articles addressing the sources of odors produced by various types of heating systems - how to find, diagnose, and correct these possibly dangerous conditions.
Thermal Tracking & Stains & Signs of Heat Loss how to recognize thermal tracking or thermal bridging & how to diagnose Stains on Ceilings & Walls, Building Air Leaks & Insulation Defects, as well as other indoor air quality or building concerns
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
"Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
"Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)
Links to our list of additional information on heating system inspection, repair, maintenance
Mobile View
