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

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

Regular furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit working trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could lower your heating bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice troubles before they begin. This could help lower future repair bills and possibly prolong the life of your system.

So how much area should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer instructions and Long Island laws for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to make sure the space has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace draws combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in more openings. This could consist of 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 furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw 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, put your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also routinely clean by your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Long Island, Airmax Long Island can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 631-737-5566 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.