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

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

Routine furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your system operating well. An annually serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your energy expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they begin. This could help lower future repair costs and potentially lengthen the life of your system.

So how much area should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer directions and Crystal and Twin Cities ordinances for clearance requirements.

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

You also need to ensure 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 model of furnace needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is located in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to add more openings. This could consist of 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 furnace 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 items 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 unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also frequently vacuum near your furnace to block dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Crystal and Twin Cities, GV Heating & Air can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 763-535-2000 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.