Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to work properly.

Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our professionals to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment running well. A routinely serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your energy bills.

Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?

Maintenance often helps us notice troubles before they begin. This could help lower future repair bills and possibly extend the life of your system.

So how much room should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re updating your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer directions and Circleville ordinances for clearance requirements.

As a general recommendation, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service experts to comfortably repair it.

You also need to make sure the space has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an older furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This type of furnace needs combustion air from the surrounding location. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in more openings. This could consist of a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to think about airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add air.

Keep Combustible Materials Separate from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms are often also used for laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of clutter that could be fire hazards.

This includes:

  • Clotheslines
  • Cleaning or laundry products
  • Gasoline, paint or paint thinner
  • Rags and papers
  • Wood scraps and sawdust
  • Used filters

If you have a cat, situate your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly vacuum near your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Circleville, Stephen Hurst Pack Heating and Cooling can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 740-474-5940 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.