On Fri, 18 Nov 2016 07:58:03 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote:


Yeah, you got one **** ant manufacturer that nobody ever heard of
that sells heat pump systems, that used that as a cute name for
their product line. When you can show us Rheem,
Trane, Weil-McLain, Goodman, Burnhan, ie that the majors call boilers
furnaces and vice-versa, then I'll agree you have something. Show us
even one of the majors. If you walked into a supply house for a part
for a boiler, would you refer to it as a "furnace" at the counter?

I think use of either term in acceptable. Furnace is a more generic term that requires further explanation to
fully define the heating system. If you use the word boiler, the other party instantly knows you are
referring to some kind of hot water heating or propulsion system, but they will not know if you are talking
about steam or circulating hot water without further description.

One large HVAC contractor publishes a glossary of terms and they define furnace as follows:

Furnace

The major component in heating a home. A device that facilitates the combustion of fuel and air to create
heat.

http://www.smcduct.com/hvac-industry-dictionary-terms

Let's face it, if you are buying parts, you have to provide a make, model and description, so, this argument
is kind of silly. I suppose if one wants to be precise, one would refer to the type of heating system, e.g.
gas fired forced hot air, oil fired baseboard radiant heat, coal fired steam, electric heat pump, etc.