Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to work right.
Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it challenging for our specialists to accomplish furnace repair.
Regular furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit operating well. An annually serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your energy bills.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they become expensive. This could help reduce future repair bills and likely lengthen the life of your system.
So how much area should your system really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re remodeling your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Northridge ordinances for clearance guidelines.
As a general recommendation, 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 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 needs combustion air from the nearby space. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could leak into your home.
If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
You don’t need to assess 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 add air.
Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace
Although furnace rooms function as 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, put your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors around your home.
You should also routinely sweep near your furnace to stop 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 Northridge, Enertek Air Conditioning & Heating can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.
Call us at (818) 727-9993 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.
