Our inspection was in August and the AC was on. Our inspector said he should not be switching to furnace mode as it might break the heating unit? Any ideas if this is true? How could I know that the furnace is in working condition unless it’s switched on?
Ive never heard that before
What area are you from? What was the ambiant outside temperature that day?
Was it a heat pump rather than separate furnace and AC?
This is why one should interview the inspector before you hire him. Know what he is going to do before the inspection not afterwards. And no he would not break the furnace. I operated furnaces all summer long with the outside ambient as high as 113 degrees. No Breakie the furnace:D
Mr, Barclay. Sorry for my snide remark.
Every question is a good question. Every answer like mine is uncalled for.
Still love you to enjoy INACHI.
See the response.
I will often hesitate to switch from A/C to furnace very quickly. If I need to I plan on a cool down period between modes. Call me paranoid, but I haven’t damaged anything yet.
I agree with where Steve is going with the Heat pump idea as a possible reason.
How often does a homeowner or even a home inspector walk into a vacant home in winter, the interior is colder than the average home is during the summer with the AC working and TURN ON the furnace…without giving it a second thought?
I do not know where this idea comes from, that you can “hurt” a furnace by operating it during summer. Furnaces get HOT. Whether it is summer or winter, I doubt it is going to get any hotter in the the summer than it does in winter, in fact I know it won’t. It is only going to get as hot as what you call for on the thermostat, then if it is working properly, it will shut off. What heating component is going to “break” if used normally? Certainly not the heating elements as these get red hot, a lot hotter than ambient outside air. This is basic high school physics.
This is like those people who put their thermostat on 80 during the day while they are at work to try and save a few dollars, then when they get home, they slap the thermostat on 60 degrees thinking that it will get “cooler, faster” by setting it lower. It takes till midnight for the home to reach temperature / equilibrium again, costing MORE than if they had just set it and left it alone. Then they wonder why the AC kicks off when the thermal protection on the compressor does its job.
Heat strips can be operated at any time with out consern for any damage from heat or cold. Heat pumps have a reversing valve to change from cooling to heat . According to most heat pump manufactures and Internachi HVAC training course it is recommended that heat pumps not be operated in the cooling mode when the outside ambient temp is below 65 deg and the heat side not be operated above 90 deg. Will it break the unit? not likely if only used in short time frames, but it is possible over long periods .
Did you go ahead and test the furnace? Does it work?
Best of luck! 