Energy Usage, Conservation and Weather Stripping - Can I safely seal off my unfinished furnace room?
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virgil
03-14-08, 12:43 PM
I finished my basement a couple years ago. My furnace sits in a small unfinished room in the basement. That room is currently uninsulated. I thought I might be able to make it a little more energy-efficient by putting some insulation up in the floor joists and on the back of the interior door that separates it from the finished room.
Is it safe/advisable/good practice to "seal" that room up? For instance, I would like to install a door sweep on that door as part of the effort, but I don't want to choke the furnace at all. Does the furnace get enough air from the returns?
Thanks.
note: cross-posted on the basement forum
Is it safe/advisable/good practice to "seal" that room up? For instance, I would like to install a door sweep on that door as part of the effort, but I don't want to choke the furnace at all. Does the furnace get enough air from the returns?
Thanks.
note: cross-posted on the basement forum
Michael Thomas
03-14-08, 04:07 PM
Start here: WSSC Combustion Air Requirements Calculator (http://www.househttp://www.hoofcraig.net/combustion_air_calc.html)
airman.1994
03-14-08, 05:42 PM
virgil adding the insulation and door sweep is in no way going to help your unit use less energy! I hope somebody has not told you it will. If this is a gas or oil furnace it could be a very bad thing to do.
virgil
03-18-08, 09:25 AM
virgil adding the insulation and door sweep is in no way going to help your unit use less energy! I hope somebody has not told you it will. If this is a gas or oil furnace it could be a very bad thing to do.
Really? No one told me it would, it's just a common sense thought on my part. I have a finished part of my basement, which is fully insulated and has proper HVAC ducting. Then, there is an unfinished area, where the furnace and hot water heater are, that has no insulation and is only separated from the finished area by a thin interior-grade door. Now, it may not save me much money, but isn't it common sense that I'm losing heated air/air-conditioned air through that door and through the floor/ceiling over the unfinished/uninsulated area? I know that when it's really cold, and I go from the finished area to the unfinished, I can tell a big difference in temperature and humidity.
It is a gas furnace and gas hot water heater. The furnace appears to have a vent to the outside, the hot water heater also has a vent attached to the top of it. Why would this be a bad thing to do?
Really? No one told me it would, it's just a common sense thought on my part. I have a finished part of my basement, which is fully insulated and has proper HVAC ducting. Then, there is an unfinished area, where the furnace and hot water heater are, that has no insulation and is only separated from the finished area by a thin interior-grade door. Now, it may not save me much money, but isn't it common sense that I'm losing heated air/air-conditioned air through that door and through the floor/ceiling over the unfinished/uninsulated area? I know that when it's really cold, and I go from the finished area to the unfinished, I can tell a big difference in temperature and humidity.
It is a gas furnace and gas hot water heater. The furnace appears to have a vent to the outside, the hot water heater also has a vent attached to the top of it. Why would this be a bad thing to do?