What is Electric Ignition in a Furnace?

Furnaces made today are different than the furnaces made long ago. Older furnaces were ran with pilot lights that stayed on at all times in order to make them work. Those old pilots drain power and are very inefficient. The new furnaces are built with electronic igniters. There are two kinds of igniters, one that is a spark igniter and creates intermittent pilot and one that is a hot surface igniter that acts almost like a light bulbs filaments. They are both used to turn on the gas jets along the burners to light the furnace. The electronic ignition system is more reliable than the pilots from before but they are still prone to needing repairs. Issues with the electronic igniters need a professional like the ones at Bartlett Heating and Air to look at and repair and we do not recommend trying to fix this yourself. Here are some of the common issues we run across with the electronic ignition system. One of the issues that happen are people touching them or handling them the wrong way which causes oil to get on the heating elements that leads them to crack. The igniters can also have the same issues that other electric elements have when it comes to wires being crossed or problems at the electrical outlets can also cause the igniters to stop working. Circuit board failure can cause the electric ignition system to not function properly. When this happens some furnaces will have an error code show up. You will have to call a technician in to repair the board issue. Igniters typically last between 3 to 5 years. This is less than the furnace is supposed to last so you will eventually need to replace it due to age. They typically crack with age which is why we have to replace them. You can lessen the probability of it just failing by having your furnace maintained each fall. The technicians like the ones at Bartlett Heating and Air are trained to detect when the ignition system is near failing before it fails so you don’t have to go without heat. These are the most common issues we run into with the electric ignition system but again do not try and repair yourself, always call a qualified technician. Call Bartlett Heating and Air today to have you furnace looked at if you suspect any ignition issues.