Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to run properly.

Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it hard for our professionals to accomplish furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment operating well. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could decrease your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice troubles before they become expensive. This could help lower future repair bills and potentially extend the life of your furnace.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer directions and Huntingburg statutes for clearance rules.

As a general rule of thumb, your heater 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You also need to make sure the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is located in a little 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 newer, 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 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, place your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the stinky odors all over your home.

You should also regularly clean near your furnace to stop dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Huntingburg, Dearing's Service & Solutions can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 812-200-5844 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment now.