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

Your furnace can shut down 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 trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your utility costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they become expensive. This could help lower future repair expenses and potentially extend the life of your unit.

So how much clearance should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer directions and Palm Coast 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 work on it.

You also need to check 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 kind of furnace draws combustion air from the adjacent location. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous 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 more 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 up-to-date, 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 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 somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly odors around your home.

You should also routinely clean around 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 Palm Coast, Cooks Air Conditioning and Heating Specialists can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 386-313-8766 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment now.