Natural gas furnaces need enough 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 technicians to accomplish furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit operating smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce 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 lower future repair costs and possibly extend the life of your system.

So how much clearance should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer instructions and Carpentersville statutes for clearance requirements.

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 conveniently repair it.

You also need to check the room 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 pulls combustion air from the adjacent location. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to install supplemental openings. This could include 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 pull in air.

Keep Flammable Items Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double 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, situate 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 unpleasant odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly sweep by your furnace to prevent dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request a Free Quote for Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Carpentersville, Controlled Comfort HVAC can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 224-412-8308 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.