Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to heat properly.
Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it difficult for our professionals to complete furnace repair.
Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your energy costs.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us spot troubles before they begin. This could help lessen future repair bills and potentially extend the life of your system.
So how much area should your system 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 instructions and Zelienople laws for clearance requirements.
As a general rule of thumb, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service experts to easily replace it.
You also need to make sure the space has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 surrounding location. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.
If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to install supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
Unsure if your furnace or water heater has enough ventilation? We can assist you!
Contact us
You don’t need to think about 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 add 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 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, put your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors throughout your home.
You should also routinely clean near your furnace to stop dust from developing.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Zelienople, Knoechel Heating Company can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any heating equipment model or brand.
Call us at 724-425-5852 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.