Furnace Theft: How to Protect Your Furnace from Being Stolen

Not many are happy about the expense of having to get a new furnace. What would be even worse is if that furnace was stolen from your home. There are things you can do to prevent someone from stealing your furnace. You will especially want to protect your house from furnace theft if you own vacant property.

Install a security burglar alarm. If you haven't installed a burglar alarm on your home, it would be a good time to do so after purchasing a new furnace. That way if someone breaks into your home, the alarm will go off and a signal will be sent alerting the police. No burglar is going to want to take the time and the chance of disconnecting and carrying a furnace while an alarm is sounding the police.

If you get a new burglar system, place any available stickers of decals outside of your house to make potential furnace thieves aware that you do have a home security system installed. Then use it the alarm system. Turn your burglar alarm on every time you leave the house unoccupied. Even during short trips.

Make your home look lived in. If you have a vacant property, because you're on vacation, selling your former home or in between tenants on a rental, you'll want to make it appear as though someone is living there. If you can, make frequent visits and stops at the house. Be visible to your neighbors and passersby. This shows others that your house is not sitting unattended for long. This not only protects your furnace from theft, but stops intruders from squatting in your house.

Close off access. Some furnaces are placed behind doors. This makes finding the furnace a little harder if one isn't familiar with the layout of the basement. You don't want to lock off access though just in case you need quick access to the furnace for safety reasons. But you don't have to have your furnace quickly visible to thieves.

Be discreet. If you get a new furnace, be discreet about it. No one, not even your neighbors, need to know that you got a new furnace in your home. Keep the packaging for the new furnace out of view. That way you aren't tipping people off that you've gotten a new furnace.

With these above steps you can help prevent the theft of your furnace.