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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it hard for our professionals to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment running well. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your heating costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they start. This could help reduce future repair expenses and possibly prolong the life of your furnace.

So how much room 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 directions and Carson City laws for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to check the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace pulls combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s not enough air, unsafe 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 add extra openings. This could include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit 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 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly vacuum by your furnace to stop dust from accumulating.

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 fix any heating equipment model or brand.

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