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

Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our professionals to complete furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your system running trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could lower your energy costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover troubles before they become expensive. This could help reduce future repair bills and potentially lengthen the life of your system.

So how much area 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 Mobile statutes for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to check the space 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 type of furnace needs combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to add more openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to think about 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 pull in air.

Keep Combustible Materials A Safe Distance from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double as 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.

You should also regularly sweep around your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Trust the Local Pros for Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Mobile, Farnell Heating & Air Conditioning Inc can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 251-471-2674 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment now.