What Causes a Red, Orange or Yellow Flame?Ī flame’s color is determined by two factors: the composition of the fuel being burned (what it is and what’s in it) and the temperature of the flame. Incomplete combustion can easily be detected, and the furnace should be changed as soon as possible if this is the case. When your furnace burns completely, it produces the most heat and uses less energy to provide the proper amount of heat. For complete, blue combustion, there must be an adequate supply of oxygen.Ĭomplete combustion is indicated by a blue flame. The bluer the flame, the hotter it is, and the more complete the combustion.Ī blue flame shows that the gas is clean, with few contaminants and minimal moisture. A blue flame signifies that the gas is being used safely and efficiently, rather than being wasted. The sign of a good natural gas furnace, according to heating service professionals, is a roaring blue flame with a light blue triangle in the center. Your natural gas furnace’s burner flames should be almost totally blue. Yellow and orange flames provide the least amount of heat. Yellow flames signify the generation of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that can produce headaches, nausea, hallucinations and, in severe cases, blackouts, in addition to being a symptom of inefficient combustion. In addition to producing more soot, incomplete combustion produces more carbon monoxide (CO), which can cause headaches, nausea and even death if inhaled in large quantities.īlue flames are hotter than other flame colors because they’re created by complete or efficient combustion. The flame color changes from red to yellow when it doesn’t get enough oxygen, as occurs with a candle flame.Ī blue flame signifies a properly-functioning oil or gas furnace any other color indicates a problem with the furnace. This produces a blue-colored flame that burns more thoroughly and produces less waste material like soot. The flame gets hotter as the oxygen supply increases. The color of the flame changes depending on how much oxygen is burned. Here Bill Reynolds Heating & Air Conditioning, your go-to air conditioning repair company, offers a quick primer on furnace flame colors and what they indicate.
BLUE FIRE VS RED FIRE PROFESSIONAL
Other fuels such as acetylene in oxygen (3100° Celsius) burn hotter than any wood.What are the meanings of the various flame colors? W hat if the flame in the furnace is yellow or orange in color? Colors other than blue are a symptom that your furnace’s fuel combustion is inefficient and your heating system in general needs to be evaluated by a professional HVAC specialist. Propane in air burns at a comparable temperature (1980° Celsius), yet much hotter in oxygen (2820° Celsius). For example, pine produces more than twice as much heat as fir or willow and dry wood burns hotter than green wood. A wood fire may exceed 1100° Celsius (2012° Fahrenheit), but different types of wood burn at different temperatures. There is no single temperature for fire because the amount of thermal energy that is released depends on several factors, including the chemical composition of the fuel, the availability of oxygen, and the portion of the flame being measured.
Breaking the chemical bond between oxygen molecules absorbs energy, but forming the chemical bonds for the products (carbon dioxide and water) releases much more energy.Although combustion requires activation energy (ignition), the net heat released exceeds the energy required.
Fire is always hot, regardless of the fuel that is used.
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