Natural gas furnaces need enough space and airflow to heat correctly.

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

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment running well. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could decrease your utility expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot troubles before they begin. This could help reduce future repair bills and possibly extend the life of your system.

So how much area should your system really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer specifications and Tomball statutes for clearance requirements.

As a general rule of thumb, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service technicians to easily work on 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 type of furnace needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and toxic 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 extra openings. This could include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to assess 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 pull in air.

Keep Flammable Items A Safe Distance 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 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 routinely clean around your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request a Free Quote for Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Tomball, Premium Air Services LLC can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 713-364-9957 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.