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

Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it difficult for our technicians to complete furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment operating well. A routinely serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your energy bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they start. This could help lessen future repair bills and potentially extend the life of your furnace.

So how much area should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Michigan City statutes for clearance rules.

As a general rule of thumb, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service experts to conveniently replace it.

You also need to ensure the space has enough 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 area. If there’s inadequate air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly 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 put in supplemental openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to think about 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 draw in air.

Keep Hazardous Items A Safe Distance from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms function as laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of things 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 corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the stinky odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly clean by your furnace to block dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request a Free Quote for Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Michigan City, Paniccia Heating & Cooling can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 219-872-2198 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.