Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to work correctly.

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

Annual furnace maintenance is important to keep your system working trouble-free. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they become expensive. This could help lessen future repair bills and potentially lengthen the life of your system.

So how much area should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer directions and Buellton statutes for clearance guidelines.

As a general recommendation, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service technicians to comfortably replace it.

You also need to ensure the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This kind of furnace draws combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is located in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull 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, place your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also routinely sweep by your furnace to stop dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Buellton, Allstar Heating & Air Conditioning can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 805-242-9638 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.