“Boiler” is British English, “Furnace” is American English. In Britain a boiler is a device in a single family home that provides heating by using gas or elect

“Boiler” is British English, “Furnace” is American English. In Britain a boiler is a device in a single family home that provides heating by using gas or electricity to heat water which is then piped to radiators. It is also used to heat water for showers. Boilers can be quite small, many modern boilers are “combi” boilers that heat water on demand without a separate hot water tank. My boiler is the size of a suitcase. Older properties generally have a boiler and insulated hot tank. This means that you need to plan your showers and heating requirements in advance by “putting the water on” to ensure there’s enough hot water in the tank. Forced air heating is rarely used in the UK and people are generally not familiar with the concept.