<P> In British English, a furnace is an industrial furnace used for many things, such as the extraction of metal from ore (smelting) or in oil refineries and other chemical plants, for example as the heat source for fractional distillation columns . The term furnace can also refer to a direct fired heater, used in boiler applications in chemical industries or for providing heat to chemical reactions for processes like cracking, and is part of the standard English names for many metallurgical furnaces worldwide . </P> <P> Furnaces can be classified into four general categories, based on efficiency and design . </P> <P> The first category of furnaces are natural draft, atmospheric burner furnaces . These furnaces consisted of cast - iron or riveted - steel heat exchangers built within an outer shell of brick, masonry, or steel . The heat exchangers were vented through brick or masonry chimneys . Air circulation depended on large, upwardly pitched pipes constructed of wood or metal . The pipes would channel the warm air into floor or wall vents inside the home . This method of heating worked because warm air rises . </P> <P> The system was simple, had few controls, a single automatic gas valve, and no blower . These furnaces could be made to work with any fuel simply by adapting the burner area . They have been operated with wood, coke, coal, trash, paper, natural gas, fuel oil as well as whale oil for a brief period at the turn of the century . Furnaces that used solid fuels required daily maintenance to remove ash and "clinkers" that accumulated in the bottom of the burner area . In later years, these furnaces were adapted with electric blowers to aid air distribution and speed moving heat into the home . Gas and oil - fired systems were usually controlled by a thermostat inside the home, while most wood and coal - fired furnaces had no electrical connection and were controlled by the amount of fuel in the burner and position of the fresh - air damper on the burner access door . </P>

A furnace that can be placed in more than one position is a