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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our technicians to perform furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working trouble-free. An annually serviced furnace may heat 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 lessen future repair costs and possibly extend the life of your unit.

So how much room should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Will a Furnace Take Up?

If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Winnipeg laws for clearance requirements.

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

You also need to make sure the area has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This kind of furnace draws combustion air from the surrounding location. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous 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 consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add 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 elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.

You should also routinely vacuum by your furnace to prevent dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Trust the Local Pros for Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Winnipeg, Kirkfield Heating & Air Conditioning can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 204-272-8128 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment now.