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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our technicians to complete furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your system operating trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your heating 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 bills and possibly prolong the life of your furnace.

So how much room 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 Macon statutes for clearance rules.

As a general rule of thumb, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service professionals to easily work on it.

You also need to ensure the room has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an older furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This type of furnace needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s inadequate air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to install supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to think about airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw 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 somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors throughout your home.

You should also frequently sweep near your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Macon, Air Temperature Control can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 478-202-3170 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment now.