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

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

Annual furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit operating well. An annually serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your energy costs.

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 lower future repair expenses and possibly extend the life of your furnace.

So how much area should your system really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

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

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

You also need to make sure the space 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 kind of furnace needs combustion air from the adjacent location. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is located in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to add more 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 system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull in air.

Keep Flammable Items A Safe Distance 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 corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the unpleasant odors throughout your home.

You should also routinely sweep around your furnace to prevent dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Northridge, Enertek Air Conditioning & Heating can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at (818) 727-9993 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.