Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to heat right.

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it difficult for our professionals to perform furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment working well. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could reduce your energy bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they start. This could help lower future repair expenses and likely prolong the life of your unit.

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 Fredericksburg laws for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to ensure the room 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 type of furnace draws combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to install 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 up-to-date, 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 clutter 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 elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also routinely vacuum by your furnace to block dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or regular 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 set up an appointment right away.