The Complete Handbook of Furnaces & Boilers
Essential Knowledge for HVAC Professionals, Technicians, Facility Managers, and Serious Homeowners
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The complete reference for understanding, choosing, installing, maintaining, and profiting from furnaces and boilers—written for professionals, not marketers.
About this book
Furnaces and boilers are the backbone of comfort and safety in most buildings, yet most technicians, facility managers, and serious homeowners piece together their knowledge from scattered sources: manufacturer manuals, YouTube videos, forum arguments, and trial-and-error experience.
This handbook provides the consolidated knowledge base you actually need. Written for HVAC professionals, heating contractors, facility managers, and serious hobbyists, it covers how furnaces and boilers work in real buildings, how to read and compare specifications that matter, how to choose the right equipment for specific conditions, installation best practices, systematic maintenance and troubleshooting, the landscape of manufacturers and suppliers, emerging regulatory and technical trends, and concrete business opportunities in service, sales, and consulting.
Each chapter is practical, grounded in real-world examples, and free of marketing hype. Whether you're diagnosing a heating failure, evaluating equipment for a building retrofit, starting a heating service business, or simply understanding the system that keeps your building warm, this handbook is your reference.
Reader Reviews
Jennifer Baker
★★★★★Finally, a heating systems book written for people who actually work on them. Chapter 1 alone—explaining draft, combustion efficiency, and why a furnace needs fresh air to breathe—cleared up things I've been confused about for five years. No marketing fluff, just straight technical knowledge. I'm keeping this on the job site.
Timothy Robinson
★★★★★This is genuinely useful. The breakdown of furnace vs. boiler operation and the efficiency specifications actually matter section saved me from buying the wrong unit for a retrofit. My only wish is that Chapter 2 had more on hybrid systems since that's where the market is heading, but that's a minor thing. Highly recommend for contractors and facility managers.
Kevin Mitchell
★★★★★Solid reference book. I appreciated the real-world examples—especially the section on why oversized furnaces are less efficient even though they seem like they'd be better. The troubleshooting chapter is practical and the business opportunities section was eye-opening for someone considering starting a service side. Wish there was more on smart thermostat integration, but overall excellent.
Rebecca Sanchez
★★★★★Good comprehensive overview. The author clearly knows the industry and writes without the usual marketing language you get in most heating guides. Understanding how draft and combustion air actually work made more sense than anything I've read before. I'd have liked more detail on older steam systems since I work with a lot of them, but it's still a solid handbook for any professional in the space.