Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to run properly.
Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it hard for our specialists to complete furnace repair.
Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your equipment operating well. A routinely serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your heating expenses.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they begin. This could help lower future repair expenses and likely prolong the life of your furnace.
So how much area should your equipment really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Pacheco ordinances for clearance guidelines.
As a general rule of thumb, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service experts to conveniently work on it.
You also need to ensure the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.
Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider
This kind of furnace pulls combustion air from the nearby area. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous 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 install supplemental openings. This could include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.
Unsure if your furnace or water heater has adequate ventilation? We can help!
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You don’t need to think about 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 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 items 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 elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly odors all over your home.
You should also regularly sweep near your furnace to block dust from building up.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Pacheco, Clean Air HVAC can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.
Call us at 925-233-6238 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment today.