Can you vent a gas water heater and furnace together?
Most homes have a shared vent (serving both the furnace + water heater) when the furnace efficiency is up to 80% (which is today’s standard efficiency gas furnace). This ensures the water heater’s exhaust gases are warm enough to rise out of the home safely.
What is the purpose of the vent on a gas furnace?
Vent systems are an important component of the combustion process of a gas furnace. A venting system ensures that the hazardous gasses are removed from the heat exchangers and burners at the end of a heating cycle. If your furnace is not turning on, the source of the problem may be a damaged vent.
Where are furnace vents located?
They should be near where your furnace is on the inside. Normally, they are a set of curved pipes (PVC, CPVC, or ABS) near the foundation, although sometimes they are on or near the roof.
How does a gas furnace vent?
A conventional natural gas furnace will vent the dangerous combustion gases through a simple vertical exhaust system that is attached to the furnace. The exhaust system typically uses metal venting, often routed into a chimney stack, to exhaust the combustion gases created in the furnace fire chamber.
How close can a water heater be to a furnace?
As a general recommendation, 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 check the space has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.
What can I use for furnace vent pipe?
Suitable materials for the vent and condensate pipes include PVC (polyvinyl chloride), CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride), and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) plastic pipe, depending on the furnace’s specified exhaust gas temperature.
How do you tell if your furnace is venting properly?
How Do I Know If My Furnace Isn’t Venting Properly? Gas furnace fumes are moist, so if you notice “sweat” on your windows, this is a sign that your furnace isn’t venting correctly. When your furnace comes on in the morning, if it is venting into your house rather than outdoors, moisture will condense on the cold glass.
What are the vents on the side of my house for?
What Is a Soffit Vent? Typically, your roof structure will include soffit vents. These vents are the ones you see when you walk under your roof overhang, also known as the soffit. They are placed lower than the exhaust vents so they can draw cooler air into the attic space.
Does a gas furnace have to be vented?
Furnaces burn fuel in order to create heat. Any time that fuel is used as a heat source, combustion gases are produced as a byproduct and those gases need to be safely vented away.
How should a gas hot water heater be vented?
The venting must be vertical or upward sloping so that the hot exhaust rises up through the venting to exit your home. Making sure that your home has a properly working vent system is imperative when installing a standard atmospheric vent with your water heater.
Can a water heater and furnace be vented together?
Many homes are built with the water heater and furnace sharing the same combustion-gases exhaust vent. This practice is common with standard efficiency (80%) furnaces. When installed correctly, this venting arrangement works with an 80% gas furnace (or lower than 80%) + gas water heater. Click to see full answer
What does it mean when your water heater has a common vent?
This is called a common vent configuration. In many cases, the exhaust from the larger appliance heats up the common vent, improving the flow of the water heater vent. In addition to venting, gas and propane water heaters need an air supply for combustion.
How are exhaust gases vented from a hot water heater?
Exhaust gases are vented outdoors through a separate vent duct or through a separate chamber of the same pipe (this requires a double-wall vent duct). Direct-vent systems essentially “breathe” outdoor air, so they are not subject to the effects of backdrafting in the home.
How does a direct vent water heater work?
A direct vent water heater draws air for combustion from outside your home rather than inside. The exhaust gases and excess heat produced by your water heater are then vented back outdoors. A direct vent water heater uses special coaxial venting that has separate chambers for intake air and exhaust in a single assembled vent piece.