Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to work correctly.
Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our specialists to complete furnace repair.
Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment running trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could lower your heating costs.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they become expensive. This could help lessen future repair bills and potentially extend the life of your unit.
So how much clearance should your equipment really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer directions and South Beloit and Belvidere ordinances for clearance guidelines.
As a general rule of thumb, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service experts to easily replace it.
You also need to make sure the area has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an older furnace with a metal flue.
Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider
This model of furnace draws combustion air from the adjacent location. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.
If your furnace is located in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in more openings. This could consist of a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
Uncertain if your furnace or water heater has proper ventilation? We can take a look!
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You don’t need to think about 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 pull in 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, place your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.
You should also frequently clean near your furnace to block 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 South Beloit and Belvidere, Fleming Heating & Air Conditioning Inc can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any HVAC model or brand.
Call us at 877-389-2465 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment now.