Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to work properly.
Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it hard for our professionals to perform furnace repair.
Routine furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could lower your utility expenses.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they begin. This could help reduce future repair bills and possibly prolong the life of your furnace.
So how much area should your equipment really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re updating your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Milledgeville and Middle Georgia ordinances for clearance requirements.
As a general suggestion, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service technicians to comfortably work on it.
You also need to check the room has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 model of furnace needs combustion air from the adjacent location. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak into your home.
If your furnace is placed in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to install extra openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
You don’t need to assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system 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 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, put your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors throughout your home.
You should also frequently clean near your furnace to prevent dust from building up.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Milledgeville and Middle Georgia, Air Concepts of Middle Georgia can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.
Call us at 478-200-5689 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.