Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to heat correctly.

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it difficult for our specialists to accomplish furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit working trouble-free. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your energy bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they start. This could help lessen future repair costs and likely prolong the life of your unit.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Will a Furnace Take Up?

If you’re remodeling your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer directions and Newton ordinances for clearance rules.

As a general recommendation, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service technicians to conveniently repair it.

You also need to ensure the room has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace draws combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is located in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental 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 modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add air.

Keep Flammable Items A Safe Distance 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly sweep near your furnace to block dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Newton, Brookwood Inc can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 641-316-9803 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.