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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it difficult for our specialists to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment operating well. An annually serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your utility costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they start. This could help reduce future repair costs and potentially lengthen the life of your unit.

So how much area should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer directions and Brookfield ordinances for clearance rules.

As a general rule of thumb, your furnace 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You also need to check the space has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This type of furnace pulls combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in extra 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 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, put your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors all over your home.

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

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Brookfield, Central Air LLC can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 203-357-5913 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.