Red Emergency Switch In Basement

How the furnace switch works.

Red emergency switch in basement.

For example if the furnace is spewing carbon monoxide due to some fault you could die going down in the basement to shut it off. There is an emergency shut off switch for the boiler directly above the boiler. First of all i usually need to get a broom or jump up to flip the switch for testing purposes. Secondly the location of the switch in the furnace room is a poor choice if there is a furnace emergency such as a gas leak or fire.

Did someone accidentally bump the emergency switch off. This circuit is served by its own circuit breaker in the breaker box properly called the main service panel the circuit wiring runs from the service panel to the disconnect switch and from there to the furnace. The most annoying problem of course is. The shutoff switch at my house for example is at the top of the stairs leading down to the basement where the furnace is.

An emergency off switch for the building heating system should be found outside of the basement or other boiler or furnace room location and accessible so that an occupant can in an emergency turn off heat without having to enter a possibly smoky or dangerous area. This switch is normally located at the top of the basement stairs or by the unit. These emergency switches should have a red wall plate. The most common is a power cutoff for the furnace located away from the appliance say at the head of the basement stairs.

I recently had a home inspection for a house i am buying and the inspector said that because the 25 year old oil boiler in the basement does not have an emergency shut off switch at the top of the basement stairs he has to write it up. It s higher than a normal light switch however so i ve never accidentally flipped it. According to building codes a furnace must be supplied by a dedicated circuit meaning the circuit cannot supply power to anything other than the furnace.