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 difficult for our technicians to complete furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit running well. An annually serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could lower your heating costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice problems before they become expensive. This could help reduce future repair costs and likely lengthen the life of your unit.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Lawrence ordinances for clearance requirements.

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

You also need to check the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace needs combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s inadequate air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly 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 put in 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 modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull 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 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 spread the unpleasant odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly clean by your furnace to stop dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Lawrence, Scott Temperature can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 785-269-0465 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.