Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to heat properly.

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

Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit working trouble-free. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your utility bills.

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 expenses and potentially lengthen the life of your system.

So how much clearance should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer directions and Fredericksburg laws for clearance requirements.

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

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

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This kind of furnace draws combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is located in a small 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.

You don’t need to assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, 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 function 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 spread the smelly odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly clean around your furnace to block dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Fredericksburg, Childress Heating & AC can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 540-675-4306 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.