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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it difficult for our professionals to accomplish furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your utility expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they start. This could help reduce future repair costs and possibly lengthen the life of your system.

So how much room should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Will a Furnace Take Up?

If you’re updating your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer directions and Hodgenville 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 professionals to easily replace it.

You also need to ensure the room has enough 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 area. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental openings. This could include 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 modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add air.

Keep Flammable Items Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double as 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 spread the stinky odors all over your home.

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

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Trust the Local Pros for Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Hodgenville, Phelps Heating & Cooling, Inc. can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 270-358-3167 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.