Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to work right.
Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it difficult for our technicians to perform furnace repair.
Regular furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your heating bills.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover troubles before they begin. This could help lower future repair costs and possibly prolong the life of your furnace.
So how much room should your system really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re updating your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Excelsior Springs laws for clearance rules.
As a general recommendation, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service technicians to comfortably repair it.
You also need to ensure the area has plentiful 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 pulls combustion air from the nearby area. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.
If your furnace is positioned in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to install more openings. This could involve 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull in air.
Keep Combustible Materials Away 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 elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.
You should also frequently vacuum around your furnace to block 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 Excelsior Springs, Colvin's Heating and Cooling can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.
Call us at 816-379-3918 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.
