Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to run properly.
Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it difficult for our professionals to perform furnace repair.
Routine furnace maintenance is important to keep your equipment working smoothly. An annually serviced furnace may work 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 become expensive. This could help lower future repair costs and possibly lengthen the life of your system.
So how much room 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 directions and New Castle laws for clearance requirements.
As a general rule of thumb, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service professionals to conveniently work on it.
You also need to make sure the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 draws combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.
If your furnace is located in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in extra openings. This could consist of a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
Unsure if your furnace or water heater has adequate 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the stinky odors around your home.
You should also frequently sweep around your furnace to prevent dust from developing.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or regular maintenance in New Castle, Central Heating & Plumbing can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.
Call us at 724-401-1843 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment now.