Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to run correctly.
Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it hard for our specialists to complete furnace repair.
Routine furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your utility expenses.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they become expensive. This could help lower future repair bills and possibly extend the life of your system.
So how much area should your equipment really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re remodeling your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Heflin ordinances for clearance rules.
As a general suggestion, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service professionals to easily repair it.
You also need to check the area has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 surrounding space. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous 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 add more openings. This could include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
You don’t need to consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw 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 things 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, put your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the smelly odors throughout your home.
You should also routinely clean by 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 routine maintenance in Heflin, Bain Heating & Air Conditioning can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any heating equipment model or brand.
Call us at 256-270-1196 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.
