Natural gas furnaces need enough space and airflow to work right.

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

Annual furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit operating trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover troubles before they begin. This could help lessen future repair bills and likely extend the life of your system.

So how much clearance should your system 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 Rockford statutes for clearance guidelines.

As a general suggestion, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service professionals to comfortably repair it.

You also need to check the room has ample 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 needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s not enough air, unsafe 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 install supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull in air.

Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also frequently sweep by your furnace to stop dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Rockford, Temperature Doctors Heating & Cooling can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at (815) 914-6197 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.