The furnace room is usually located in the basement or on the ground floor. The furnace room needs to be planned based on the fuel, location of chimneys, fuel deliveries, location of expansion tanks and possibly ash removal.

In addition to the heating system itself, you must consider noise protection and fuel storage. Consult a professional for advice.

• Caution: On setting up any furnace, maintain the minimum distance to any combustible components and objects. (Consult your local ordinances.)
• It is best to construct the furnace room as a separate fire area with a fire-protective door (T30).
• Doors must open to the outside; doors to the inside of the house should be self-closing.
• Install the furnace so that it is accessible from all sides.
• The furnace room should be at least 2 meters high and have fire-resistant walls and fireproof ceilings.
• For ventilation of the heating room, plan an exhaust opening under the ceiling and an intake above the floor.
• HHV systems require a sewer connection.

Oil furnace (also see Heat production)

• On installation, observe all instructions of the manufacturer and all local and regional ordinances
• Storage of oil in steel tanks can cause corrosion; regularly have the tank cleaned to retain the efficiency of the heating system.

Wood furnace (also see Heat production)

• Caution: Ashes can contain dangerous embers over several days.
• Therefore storage of ashes requires containers of non-flammable material with a tight lid.
• Automatic wood furnace systems require safety provisions to avoid flame backlash, back burning or flashback from the firing chamber into the storage container or fuel storage room.

Pellets storage

Pellets heating systems combine high operating comfort and CO2 reduction. The pellets can be stored outside the house in a tank or in a storage room. Safe fuel transport is handled by suction or worm screw systems.

Storage room:

• Locate storage along an outside wall for accessibility for fuel delivery
• Walls and floors need to be masonry, tight and dry.
• Fire-protective door, wooden paneling and impact-resistant mat are required.
• Observe manufacturer’s instructions.

Outside tank:

• The tank is dug into the yard outside the house.
• Tank and delivery system (feeds pellets to heating system) must be compatible with the heating system.

Heat pumps (see also Heat production)

• A heat pump draws ambient energy from ground, water or air as stored solar energy. 
• 1 kWh Strom of electric power for driving the compressor can generate some 4 kWh of heat.
• The use of ground as the energy source for a heat pump depends on the type of collectors and the available size of the property.
• A heat pump requires 1.5 to 3 times the area to be heated. Here horizontal coils of pipe draw heat from the ground.
• Warmth from the ground can also be utilized via depth drilling.
• Outside air can also serve as a heat source. Its drawback is that during extreme cold the efficiency of the heat pump drops.
• Recommendation: Use a secondary furnace or fireplace.
• Ground water is an especially good heat source due to its constant temperature of 8 – 10° C.
• Caution: not available everywhere and subject to conditions of local authorities

Gas furnace (see also Heat production)

• As with regional heating, natural gas is delivered to your home via a pipe system.
• Gas furnaces are easy to use and need little maintenance.
• You do not need a storage room, but you must have a chimney, which means chimney sweeping and inspection costs.
• If your property or neighborhood has a natural gas line, then it makes sense to use this and invest the money you save in thermal insulation. The domestic connection can be inside or outside.
• The more energy-efficient your house is planned, the less natural gas you will need.
• If you install a solar system parallel to the natural gas, you can further reduce gas consumption.
• You can also complement a natural gas system with a wood stove to make you more independent.

Noise protection (see also Noise insulation)

• In basement rooms with a furnace nominal rating up to ca. 100 kW, furnace noise is usually transferred through airborne sound alone.
• Therefore the basement ceiling should be a heavy construction.
• Floating concrete in the ground floor should be put on a soft, elastic insulation layer.
• Furnace noise can also spread through the chimney. In this case insert a sound suppressor between the furnace and the chimney.

Fuel storage (see also Fire protection)

• Generally store fuel in a storage room separate from the heating system.
• Never store fuel next to the furnace or in stairways, along emergency exits, in hallways or in the attic.
• Storage tanks for combustible fluids and gases outside the building and at least 5 meters away. Observe local ordinances.
• Oil can be stored in an underground tank, a special plastic tank or a specially built oil storage room.
• The storage room for solid fuels (wood, wood chips, pellets) inside a house must be made fire-resistant with non-flammable materials (F90) and a fire-protective door (F30).
• For storage of pellets, ensure dry conditions and tight doors to the storage room (wood dust is created on fuel delivery).
• Avoid water and heating lines through the pellets storage room.