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

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

Annual furnace maintenance is important to keep your unit operating smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your utility bills.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot issues before they start. This could help lessen future repair bills and possibly prolong the life of your system.

So how much area should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Phoenix statutes for clearance requirements.

As a general recommendation, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service technicians 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 model of furnace needs combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is located 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit 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 clutter 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 circulate the stinky odors around your home.

You should also routinely clean by your furnace to stop dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Phoenix, Dial One Mears Air Conditioning & Heating Inc can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 602-789-3315 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment right away.