Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to heat properly.

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

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit running trouble-free. An annually serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could reduce your heating costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover issues before they become expensive. This could help lower future repair bills and possibly prolong the life of your unit.

So how much clearance should your equipment 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 Omaha laws for clearance requirements.

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

You also need to check the space 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 type of furnace pulls combustion air from the nearby space. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and deadly 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 add more 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system 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 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, put your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also routinely sweep around your furnace to prevent 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 Omaha, The Frazier Company can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 402-628-0206 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment now.