What Is a Furnace Used For?

A furnace is a device used to provide heat for homes or buildings. It can use various fuel sources like coal, oil, wood or natural gas in order to generate warmth. Furnaces also convert electricity into usable heat energy.

A thermostat controls the temperature in a house, while a furnace sends signals to various components like its gas valve and blower fan to activate them. These commands enable the furnace to regulate how much fuel is released through its burners and ignited by a pilot light.

The thermostat regulates the heat output from a furnace and distributes that warm air throughout the house. It also monitors the temperature in the heating system and sends commands to keep it at that level.

When the temperature in a home drops below the set thermostat, an alert is sent to start heating cycle. This series of steps is repeated until desired temperature has been achieved.

Radiation and convection are two ways heat is transferred within a furnace. Radiation occurs when hot objects pass through tubes, transferring their energy to other objects within the same chamber. This is how heat is distributed throughout a furnace’s tubes.

Different furnace types exist, each designed for a distinct purpose. From simple units that use flames to heat up rooms or buildings to more intricate industrial models that can serve a variety of tasks.

Gas furnaces are the most commonly used furnace type to heat homes. These units use natural gas as fuel and connect to a supply line outside your home through a pipe.

The gas is then forced through the furnace and into a heat exchanger, which transfers that warmth into the air entering your home. A blower motor then propels this heated air through ducts and vents in order to distribute it throughout the residence.

A furnace not only distributes heat, but it can also be used for other purposes like air conditioning or drying clothes. Some furnaces even include humidifiers to add moisture into the air and raise indoor humidity levels–which has many health benefits–which may benefit households.

These systems feature an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating which indicates how much of a fuel’s energy is converted to heat for your home instead of simply venting up the chimney. A high AFUE can help save you money on your energy bill.

Gas-fired furnaces are commonly employed in a range of industrial processes, such as metal melting, annealing, brazing and sintering. These machines use air, oxidized, inert, reducing, salt bath and vacuum atmospheres to maintain the gases at the correct temperature for each application.

These furnaces are used in a variety of industries, from aerospace to pharmaceutical production. For processing heavy materials or smaller parts, walking beam furnaces may be combined with roller hearths. All furnaces feature an aftercooling system which rapidly cools the material after heating to protect it from contamination or scale formation.