507581-04Page 8  of  60 Issue 2128
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  the  total  input  rating  of  all 
equipment in the enclosure (See Figure 6 and Figure 7). 
It  is  also  permissible  to  bring  air  for  combustion  from  a 
ventilated attic (Figure 9) or ventilated crawl space (Figure 
10).
Figure 6. Equipment in Conned Space - All Air from 
Outside
(Inlet Air from Crawl Space and Outlet Air to 
Ventilated Attic)
Figure 7. Equipment in Conned Space - All Air from 
Outside
(All Air through 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 hour of 
the total input rating of all equipment in the enclosure. See 
Figure 8.