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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it hard for our technicians to perform furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit operating smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your heating bills.

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 possibly prolong the life of your furnace.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Will a Furnace Take Up?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Carson City ordinances for clearance requirements.

As a general rule of thumb, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service professionals to comfortably repair it.

You also need to check 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 needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to add extra openings. This could involve 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 add air.

Keep Hazardous Items 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, put your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors all over your home.

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

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Carson City, Anderson Heating & A/C can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 775-230-7628 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.