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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it challenging for our specialists to accomplish furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your system working trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your energy expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot troubles before they start. This could help lower future repair costs and possibly extend the life of your unit.

So how much area should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Neptune City 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 allows our service experts to conveniently work on it.

You also need to ensure the area 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 surrounding location. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to add extra 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 unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull 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 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, place your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the stinky odors around your home.

You should also routinely sweep by your furnace to block dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Neptune City, Aggressive Mechanical can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 732-806-5536 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.