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Though  an  area  may  appear  to  be  unconned,  it  might 
be necessary to bring in outdoor air for combustion if the 
structure does not provide enough air by inltration. If the 
furnace is located in a building of tight construction with 
weather stripping and caulking around the windows and 
doors, follow the procedures in the air from outside sec-
tion.
Conned Space
A conned space is an area with a volume less than 50 
cubic feet (1.42 m3) per  1,000 Btu (.29 kW) per  hour of 
the combined input rating of all appliances installed in that 
space.  This  denition  includes  furnace  closets  or  small 
equipment rooms.
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 plat-
form or at the return air duct connection can cause a po-
tentially dangerous negative pressure condition. Air for 
combustion and ventilation can be brought into the con-
ned space either from inside the building or from outside
.
EQUIPMENT IN CONFINED
SPACE ALL AIR FROM INSIDE
CHIMNEY
OR GAS
VENT
FURNACE
WATER
HEATER
OPENINGS
(To Adjacent
Room)
NOTE - Each opening shall have a free area of at least one square
inch (645 mm
2
ing of all equipment in the enclosure, but not less than 100 square
inches (64516 mm
2
).
AIR FLOW
FIGURE 2 
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 spac-
es. 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 2.
Air from Outside
If air from outside is brought in for combustion and ventila-
tion, the conned space must have two permanent open-
ings. 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.  These  openings  must  commu-
nicate 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  (645  mm2) 
per 4,000  Btu (1.17  kW) per  hour of  total input  rating of 
all equipment in the enclosure. See FIGURE 3 and FIG-
URE 4. 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 5.
When ducts are used, they shall be of the same cross-sec-
tional 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  eect  of  louvers,  grilles,  or  screens 
must be considered. If the design and free area of protec-
tive 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.