The Beckett Blog

Every component of the heating system plays an important role in safe and efficient operation. In particular, the primary control acts as one of the system's key components, especially when it comes to safe operation. In general, the primary control functions as an oversight for the entire heating system, with the ability to start or stop the burner run cycle if an issue is detected. By taking this monitoring responsibility and automating it with the primary control, heating systems have become much safer in modern times. In this guide, we'll give you an overview of primary controls in today's heating systems and how they function.

Advances in electronics technology are making an exciting impact in our oil heat industry. These developments have enabled control manufacturers to put high performance features into residential primary controls. Residential controls are now being made available to you that have features that were previously found only with the expensive primary control units for commercial or industrial applications. Features like valve-on delay (pre-purge), burner motor-off delay (post-purge), and interrupted duty ignition are becoming universal. Preignition, limited reset, recycle, and alarms contacts are also helping to make today’s controls advanced and powerful tools.

In the history of heating and combustion technology, manufacturers and heating specialists alike have made huge improvements in the arenas of heating efficiency and safety. One of the most significant developments in terms of heating safety is the introduction of the burner primary control, which communicates with other heating components and oversees the safe operation of the system. However, systems haven't always been designed this way. As heating systems evolved the primary control became an integral part of the heating system, striving for safety while delivering automatic comfort.

When heating with gas or oil, safety is always the top priority, and over the years, OEMs have counted on the innovations of their suppliers to improve the safety conditions inside their systems. In general, heating safety hinges on every part of the heating systems interacting correctly with the other components they are connected to. But when there are so many vital parts in the system that need to constantly be interacting, the best way to ensure that heating is carried out safely is to introduce a part that oversees the entire combustion cycle — the primary control.