Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to work correctly.

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it hard for our technicians to accomplish furnace repair.

Routine furnace maintenance is important to keep your system running well. An annually serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot troubles before they become expensive. This could help reduce future repair costs and possibly prolong the life of your system.

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 Bloomfield ordinances for clearance rules.

As a general recommendation, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service technicians to conveniently replace it.

You also need to ensure the area has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an older furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This type of furnace draws combustion air from the nearby space. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is located in a tiny 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 assess 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 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors around your home.

You should also routinely vacuum by your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Bloomfield, Stanford Heating & Cooling can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 812-825-8695 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment today.