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

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

Annual furnace maintenance is important to keep your system working well. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could decrease your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they begin. This could help reduce future repair bills and possibly prolong the life of your unit.

So how much area should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Mount Pleasant laws for clearance guidelines.

As a general suggestion, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service technicians to conveniently repair it.

You also need to make sure the room has plentiful 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 draws combustion air from the adjacent space. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is located in a small 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 assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add air.

Keep Combustible Materials 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, place your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors all over your home.

You should also routinely sweep near 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 annual maintenance in Mount Pleasant, Olde Towne Heating & Air can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 843-485-0967 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment now.