Furnace Pressure Switch

QUESTION:

I got a call the other evening from the tenants in our rental house saying the air was blowing but there was no heat. I checked and they hadn't mucked up the programmable thermostat, so I figured a service call was in order.
A technician from the HVAC company we use came out to the house for a service call yesterday and determined the pressure switch was bad.
I don't dispute the professional's diagnostic, but I would like to know what the pressure switch on a gas furnace does, since the office assistant who actually called me couldn't tell me. What kind of questions should I be asking the company?
And should I ask to talk directly with the technician who made the service call, since I wasn't able to be there myself for the call?

ANSWER:

If it's a newer furnace with a draft inducer fan (90% eff, e.g.) a small pressure switch monitors the draft conditions and won't permit gas valve opening unless draft is correct.


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