Furnace

• A furnace is an important appliance for home as well as commercial use. In homes, a furnace is typically a tall, rectangular-shaped metal box that's located in a basement, garage or hidden behind a closet door. In a business, a furnace can be larger than an 18-wheeler truck. Residential furnaces are relied on to work with home HVAC systems to generate warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer. Commercial and industrial furnaces are relied on to provide everything from heating to the very products that a company manufactures.
  
  

Induction

• Induction is one of many types of processes that a furnace can use to generate heat. Induction furnaces are primarily used in foundries for melting metals. For example, a cookware manufacturer may use an induction furnace to melt raw iron and turn it into cast iron cookware. An automobile manufacturer may have used an induction furnace to melt the metal to form the chassis for the car you drive.
  
  

Similarities

• Converting fuels and materials into heat is the core similarity between a furnace and the induction process. A furnace requires some type of fuel such as natural gas, liquid propane, coal or electricity to generate the heat. An induction furnace uses electric power to generate heat. The furnace and the induction process both depend on a chamber to house the process of converting the fuel or electric power into heat.
  
  

Differences

• Induction is a process that relies on a furnace to be executed. However, a furnace can be designed for an induction process that uses electricity to generate heat, or one that uses another source of fuel. The induction process is used for industrial and commercial purposes, while a furnace can be used in homes as well as for industry and commerce. An induction furnace can be as large as a room in a home, while a furnace for a residence is about the size of a four-drawer file cabinet. A residential furnace is used for heating, and does not require any tending or stoking, such as one might do with a fireplace. However, an induction furnace is a piece of manufacturing equipment that could involve engagement with the operator to forge, mold and manipulate the metal materials inside the furnace until they reach the desired form and structure.