Blog - Heating and Cooling- HVAC

Gas Furnace: Safety Considerations Now That Cooler Weather's Here

Author: Ask Nicor Services | Friday, December 14, 2012

If you heat your home with natural gas, there are a number of extremely important gas furnace safety considerations to keep in mind as winter approaches. While gas furnaces offer homeowners excellent energy efficiency, they also come with some hazards and risks that you should protect yourself and your family against.

Carbon monoxide is the single most dangerous such risk. You should have a carbon monoxide detector located in the room where your furnace is installed, but it should not be closer than 15 feet from your heating equipment. This prevents false alarms, as a small amount of carbon monoxide is released during regular operation and will not pose a safety hazard if the furnace is properly ventilated to the outdoors.

Here are some other important gas furnace safety tips:

• Never store flammable materials or products near a gas furnace.
• Avoid using flammable aerosol sprays indoors during the wintertime to the greatest possible degree.
• Ensure that your incoming gas shutoff valve and the gas meter are both in open positions.
• Change your furnace filter regularly; during the winter, you should inspect your furnace filter at least once a month and clean or replace it as soon as it becomes necessary.
• Call your local utility company immediately if you detect any gas odors in your home; do not operate the furnace if you smell gas in your boiler room.
• Make sure your pilot light is blue before using your furnace; any other color signals a problem.

In addition to these gas furnace safety considerations, you should also make sure your furnace is clean and that there are no gas leaks. It's also a wise idea to have your furnace professionally inspected each year in the fall, before the demands of the winter heating system set in.

It is best to leave these safety checks to a professional, with the experience and specialized knowledge to identify and correct any problems before they become dangerous. If you'd like to arrange an affordable gas furnace inspection, contact us at Nicor Home Services. Our dealers provide courteous, professional HVAC services to residents throughout the Chicago area.