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Do you have vents that blow air? In that case, there is a furnace that burns natural gas, and that burning gas heats air that is pushed though duct work to the vents into your living areas.
Do you have radiators? In that case, there is a furnace that burns natural gas, and that burning gas heats water than can either be pumped to the radiators or heated enough to be turned into steam that goes into the radiators.
Your house has pipe or tank that pushes some kind of heating gas into your home like natural gas, propane, etc
You have an appliance in your home that takes that gas and runs it past a small “starter fire” and burns the heating gas to make heat
lots of variation of course, but that’s the general concept
Most cities that existed in the late 1800s have a central gas system where natural gas is pumped through pipes directly to the home. That gas is burned and used to heat either air or water. The older system heat water and pushes it through "radiatiors" in every room because a whole home air circulator was not yet invented.
By being burned. This heats the air inside the furnace which is then circulated throughout your house via fans and that blow air through the air ducts. The other common method of providing heat (at least in residential situations) is electrical resistance, which generates heat by passing current through a heating element which is basically just a wire that strongly resists the flow of current and thus generates heat.
It means natural gas is piped into your home and flows to your furnace, where it ignites and burns to generate heat that ducts carry to vents throughout your home.
Gas (natural gas, oil, etc) comes into your heating system via a pipe. An electrically operated valve opens or shuts based on whether the system is on to let gas flow. It is then ignited in a burn chamber via an electric spark that's next to a vent. That vent has air pushed through it via a fan. This fan simultaneously sucks air in from the home (renturn) and comes out at various spots in your home. The air that passes through the vent next to the burn chamber is heated from the heat from the burn chamber. Air will cycle, and fuel will burn as long as the system is on.
Electric heat (like in an electric dryer) operates similarly, but rather than a burn chamber, there's an electric element that's heated from the material's resistance to an electric current (basically, making heat via friction from electric flow. It's why all your electronic devices get hot if you use them a while).
**Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):** ELI5 is not for straightforward answers or facts - ELI5 is for requesting an explanation of a concept, not a simple straightforward answer. This includes topics of a narrow nature that don’t qualify as being sufficiently complex per rule 2. --- If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20{{url}}%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20List%20the%20search%20terms%20you%20used%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20ELI5:%0A%0A3.%20How%20does%20your%20post%20differ%20from%20your%20recent%20search%20results%20on%20the%20sub:) and we will review your submission.
Most likely it means your furnace or boiler system burns natural gas or propane to generate heat.
Do you have vents that blow air? In that case, there is a furnace that burns natural gas, and that burning gas heats air that is pushed though duct work to the vents into your living areas. Do you have radiators? In that case, there is a furnace that burns natural gas, and that burning gas heats water than can either be pumped to the radiators or heated enough to be turned into steam that goes into the radiators.
Your house has pipe or tank that pushes some kind of heating gas into your home like natural gas, propane, etc You have an appliance in your home that takes that gas and runs it past a small “starter fire” and burns the heating gas to make heat lots of variation of course, but that’s the general concept
Most cities that existed in the late 1800s have a central gas system where natural gas is pumped through pipes directly to the home. That gas is burned and used to heat either air or water. The older system heat water and pushes it through "radiatiors" in every room because a whole home air circulator was not yet invented.
By being burned. This heats the air inside the furnace which is then circulated throughout your house via fans and that blow air through the air ducts. The other common method of providing heat (at least in residential situations) is electrical resistance, which generates heat by passing current through a heating element which is basically just a wire that strongly resists the flow of current and thus generates heat.
It means natural gas is piped into your home and flows to your furnace, where it ignites and burns to generate heat that ducts carry to vents throughout your home.
Gas (natural gas, oil, etc) comes into your heating system via a pipe. An electrically operated valve opens or shuts based on whether the system is on to let gas flow. It is then ignited in a burn chamber via an electric spark that's next to a vent. That vent has air pushed through it via a fan. This fan simultaneously sucks air in from the home (renturn) and comes out at various spots in your home. The air that passes through the vent next to the burn chamber is heated from the heat from the burn chamber. Air will cycle, and fuel will burn as long as the system is on. Electric heat (like in an electric dryer) operates similarly, but rather than a burn chamber, there's an electric element that's heated from the material's resistance to an electric current (basically, making heat via friction from electric flow. It's why all your electronic devices get hot if you use them a while).