When installing a new gas-fired furnace or water heater, you must add outside ventilation . There are several good reasons that a furnace room should have ventilation. Notwithstanding the local building codes, any gas-fired appliance needs a source of combustion air to burn freely and effectively.
Should a furnace room be vented?
1. Ventilate and make space. Furnaces and hot water heaters are powered by electricity or fuels like oil, propane or natural gas, so it's important that there's enough space for proper ventilation – as well as maintenance or emergency repair work. ... Don't leave used filters or old furnace parts lying around.
Can a furnace be in a closed room?
There is ample airflow in these enclosures, so the furnace gets appropriate ventilation and combustion air from the rest of the house or through grills in the surrounding floors or walls. ... Furnaces should not be housed in sealed or closed rooms for several safety and health reasons.
Does a furnace closet need ventilation?
Ventilating a closet is generally easy to do. Furnaces have their own supply and exhaust vents that need to be installed along with the unit. ... For safety, you need the required venting , but as long as you extend pipes to the roof or outside walls, you do not need to worry about the closet.
How much venting should a furnace room have?
Most furnace rooms need vents. 1 sq. inch of venting near the ceiling . The minimum area for each vent is 100 square inches (10 x 10 inches).
What kind of door do I need for a furnace room?
A pre-hung door is a door that is already installed inside a door frame. The entire frame is installed inside the wall as one unit, preventing you from having to install the hinges on the door and door frame. Using double doors provides enough space to replace the furnace and water heater.
Is it safe to enclose a gas furnace?
This kind of furnace draws combustion air from the surrounding location. If there's not enough air, dangerous gas fumes and toxic 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 put in more openings.
How do you ventilate a furnace room?
The most common way to add vents to the room is to install a louvered door . (A louvered door has horizontal slats for venting.) If the door is fully louvered over its entire surface then this will work as long as the combined input rating of the gas appliances is less than 175,000 BTU/hr.
How far away from a wall should a furnace be?
As a general rule of thumb, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service professionals to conveniently work on it. You also need to make sure the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.
Does a utility room need ventilation?
Air is essential to proper combustion and that is why proper utility room ventilation is essential to make a furnace, boiler, or water heater work properly and safely.
What should you not put in a furnace room?
Do not store any cardboard boxes, cleaning materials, or chemicals anywhere in the room. Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Purchase at least one fire extinguisher and make it easy to locate. Do not block the entrance to the room or the areas surrounding the furnace.
Where does a furnace pull air from?
Conventional/Standard efficiency furnaces
Conventional furnaces draw air from the area immediately surrounding the furnace . Just imagine a box mounted in the middle of a room in your house with an exhaust fan pumping air into it and a vent carrying it up out of your house.
How big does a furnace room have to be?
How Much Space Do I Need to Provide to my Natural Gas Furnace? The usual recommendation is that your system should be about 30 inches away from furnace's walls on all of its sides .
Can a water heater touch the wall?
water heater can sit against wall , but this can restrict air flow... so keep stuff away from gas water heater.
Does adding a utility room add value?
Find space for a utility room
If you have gone down the open-plan route, finding space to add a utility room can be a great practical addition and add value to a house . It keeps the noise of white goods out of the living space and gives you a place to hide away laundry and cleaning gear.
What is classed as a utility room?
A utility room is an area within the home created for the primary purpose of housing larger household appliances and performing day-to-day tasks , such as laundry. ... Older generations would deem the term ‘utility room' as a fancy name for a scullery, and they'd be right!
