THERMALATOR® I
There are several weaknesses inherent within the traditional type of heating appliance. Although the gas burning, hot air systems have been around for many years, the cost of natural gas was so low that very little attention was paid to heater efficiency. When it got cool, you just turned up the thermostat, the gas ignited and you had heat – very simple and easy. A few years ago, the heating appliance manufacturers came up with an electronic ignition system that did away with the ever-burning pilot light. The big advantage of this was in being able to advertise and sell a "newer - more advanced" furnace, for a higher dollar, of course!
One thing to remember during all of this discussion and in any conversations you may have with anyone regarding furnaces, efficiencies etc., is this simple indisputable fact: A cubic foot of natural gas delivered to your home is the same as a cubic foot of natural gas delivered to your neighbors system. There is no "Regular", "Mid-grade", or "Premium" – all domestic natural gas is of basically the same grade. Having agreed to this, you must also agree that a cubic foot of natural gas has only so much heat energy stored in it. The trick is to convert as much of that energy to usable heat as you can, and deliver it to the space to be heated as economically and efficiently as possible.
NORMAL FURNACE OPERATION
Most furnaces are constructed in such a manner that the heat exchangers are saturated with heat after only about 1 minute and 50 seconds to 2 minutes of fuel burning. This burning produces (with natural gas) exhaust gasses in the 900-1000 F range – this is what heats the metal heat exchangers. The cooling air blowing past the outside of the heat exchangers is only at room temperature. The room air cannot possibly absorb all the heat produced by the burning fuel. Remember, with most furnaces the heat exchangers are saturated with heat after only 2 minutes of burning – but the burners will not stop burning or even slow down their burning rate at that point. Most will keep burning full blast for the next 8 to 13 minutes although the heat exchangers can only absorb a small percentage of the heat being produced. Where does this unabsorbed heat then go? The only place for it to go – up the chimney and into the outside air.
YOU MUST BE KIDDING!
Don’t take my word for it. Go to your furnace and put your hand on the furnace chimney – where it comes out of your furnace. MAKE SURE THE FURNACE IS NOT OPERATING AT THIS POINT!
Now have someone turn the thermostat up 5 to 10 degrees above the room temperature. Time yourself to see how long you can keep your hand on the chimney. BE VERY CAREFUL – you could very quickly burn your hand!
THE ANSWER!
THERMALATOR® I
The Thermalator® I mode of operation is based on solid scientific principles. There is no need to alter or re-install your old conventional furnace, what it really needs is a tweaking of the operational signals sent to the furnace from the Thermostat – this tweaking is what the Thermalator® I is all about.
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