http://www.ck12.org Chapter 18. Thermal Energy
18.3 Using Thermal Energy
Lesson Objectives
- Identify common home heating systems.
- Explain how a cooling system transfers thermal energy.
- Outline how a combustion engine works.
Lesson Vocabulary
- combustion engine
- refrigerant
Introduction
Ashley feels chilly, so she turns up the thermostat (pictured inFigure18.11). She hears the furnace switch on in the
basement, and in just a few minutes, warm air is blowing out of vents in the floor. Before long, the whole house is
much warmer. Modern home heating systems keep us comfortable in cold weather. We may even depend on them
for our survival. But we often take them for granted. Do you know how a home heating system works? Do you
know how it turns fuel to thermal energy or how it circulates thermal energy throughout the house? In this lesson,
you’ll find out.
FIGURE 18.11
The thermostat of a home heating sys-
tem controls the furnace, which heats the
house.