507270-03Page 8 of 60 Issue 1917
When  the  furnace  is  installed  so  that  supply  ducts  carry 
air  circulated  by  the  furnace  to  areas  outside  the  space 
containing the furnace, the return air must be handled by 
ducts  which  are  sealed  to  the  furnace  casing  and  which 
terminate  outside  the space  containing the  furnace. This 
is  especially  important  when  the  furnace  is  mounted  on 
a platform in  a conned space such as a  closet  or small 
equipment room. Even a small leak around the base of the 
unit at the platform or at the return air duct connection can 
cause a potentially dangerous negative pressure condition. 
Air for combustion and ventilation can be brought into the 
conned  space  either  from  inside  the  building  or  from 
outside.
Air from Inside
If  the  conned  space  that  houses  the  furnace  adjoins  a 
space  categorized  as  unconned,  air  can  be  brought  in 
by  providing  two  permanent  openings  between  the  two 
spaces. Each opening must have a minimum free area of 1 
square inch (645 mm²) per 1,000 Btu (.29 kW) per hour of 
total input rating of all gas-red equipment in the conned 
space. Each opening must be at least 100 square inches 
(64516 mm²). One opening shall be within 12 inches (305 
mm) of the top of the enclosure and one opening within 12 
inches (305 mm) of the bottom. See Figure 5.
Figure 5. Equipment in Conned Space - All Air From 
Inside
Air from Outside
If  air  from  outside  is  brought  in  for  combustion  and 
ventilation, the conned space shall be provided with two 
permanent openings. One opening shall be within 12” (305 
mm) of the  top of the enclosure and one  within 12” (305 
mm)  of  the  bottom.  These  openings  must  communicate 
directly or by ducts with the outdoors or spaces (crawl or 
attic) that freely communicate with the outdoors or indirectly 
through vertical ducts. Each opening shall have a minimum 
free area of 1 square inch per 4,000 Btu (645 mm² per .59 
kW)  per  hour  of  total  input  rating  of  all  equipment  in  the 
enclosure (see Figure 6 and Figure 7). It is also permissible 
to bring in air for combustion from a ventilated attic (Figure 
8) or ventilated crawl space (Figure 9).
Figure 6. Equipment in Conned Space - All Air from 
Outside
(Inlet Air from Crawl Space and Outlet Air to 
Ventilated Attic)
When communicating with the outdoors through horizontal 
ducts, each opening shall have a minimum free area of 1 
square  inch  (645  mm²)  per  2,000  Btu  (.56  kW)  per  total 
input rating of all equipment in the enclosure. See Figure 
10.
When  ducts  are  used,  they  shall  be  of  the  same  cross-
sectional area as  the  free  area  of the openings to  which 
they  connect.  The  minimum  dimension  of  rectangular 
air  ducts  shall  be  no  less  than  3  inches  (75  mm).  In 
calculating free area, the blocking effect of louvers, grilles, 
or screens must be considered. If the design and free area 
of protective covering is not known for calculating the size 
opening  required,  it  may  be  assumed  that  wood  louvers 
will have 20 to 25 percent free area and metal louvers and 
grilles will have  60  to  75  percent free area. Louvers  and 
grilles  must  be  xed  in  the  open  position  or  interlocked 
with the equipment so that they are opened automatically 
during equipment operation.
Figure 7. Equipment in Conned Space - All Air from 
Outside
(All Air through Ventilated Attic)