What’s the Difference Between a Furnace and Boiler?

Furnaces and boilers both heat your home, but they do so in drastically different ways. Let’s breakdown the differences so you can determine which is best for your home.

What Is a Furnace?

A furnace is an appliance that heats air through a combustion process. It uses a blower motor to push warm air through the duct system, distributing it throughout the home. As the hot air arrives in each room, it quickly warms the room up to a comfortable temperature. Furnaces use either natural gas or electricity to generate heat.

What’s a Boiler?

A boiler uses water to generate heat. Some models distribute steam through pipes to steam radiators to deliver warmth. Others circulate hot water through baseboard radiators or radiant floor systems.

Which is Better?

A furnace and boiler are fundamentally different in the element they use to heat the home. While a furnace uses air, a boiler uses water. Homeowners will also find that these two systems are different in the kind of maintenance they need. With a furnace, you may need to change or clean an air filter once a month or every season.

For a boiler, the maintenance is completely different. A boiler has to have excess air bled out of the system. Each boiler is different, so the frequency of bleeding depends on the boiler you have. If your rooms are being heated up unevenly, it is an indication that your boiler needs repairs or maintenance work.

Furnaces and boilers both require maintenance work to function properly. If you need help with your heating or air conditioning system, call Rawhide Electric Services today at (360) 382-1180 to get a consultation.