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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it hard for our professionals to complete furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your system working trouble-free. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your energy costs.

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

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

So how much clearance should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re remodeling your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Pflugerville ordinances for clearance rules.

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

You also need to check 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 model of furnace needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to add 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 furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.

Keep Flammable Items A Safe Distance 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors throughout your home.

You should also routinely sweep near your furnace to stop dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Pflugerville, Evenaire Heating & Air Conditioning can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 512-355-1482 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.