Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to work right.
Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it hard for our specialists to complete furnace repair.
Routine furnace maintenance is important to keep your equipment running trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could decrease your heating bills.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they start. This could help lessen future repair costs and possibly prolong the life of your system.
So how much area should your furnace really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer instructions and Troy laws for clearance rules.
As a general suggestion, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service professionals to easily replace it.
You also need to check the area has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.
Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider
This kind of furnace pulls combustion air from the adjacent space. If there’s not enough air, dangerous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak 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 include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
Uncertain if your furnace or water heater has enough ventilation? We can assist you!
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You don’t need to think about airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.
Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace
Although furnace rooms double as laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of items 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, place 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 routinely sweep by your furnace to stop dust from building up.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Troy, Edington Heating & Cooling Inc can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.
Call us at 937-558-9478 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.