Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to run right.

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

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working trouble-free. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your heating 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 lower future repair bills and likely extend the life of your unit.

So how much area should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer specifications and Front Royal statutes for clearance requirements.

As a general rule of thumb, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service experts to comfortably work on it.

You also need to ensure 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 model of furnace needs combustion air from the surrounding space. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

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

Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms function 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, put your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.

You should also frequently clean by your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Front Royal, Dave's Diversified Services can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 540-636-3396 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.