Unfortunately the fresh air intake you have described is the second type and does not provide direct combustion air to the furnace room as it is directly connected to the return air plenum for.
Furnace air intake inside or outside.
Usually these small filtered vents help improve air quality since the air outside is typically fresher than the air outside.
Most people do not clean around the furnaces so that is usually the main cause however if the area around the furnace and the unit itself is cleaned regularly or yearly this will not really be an issue.
There are two types of airflow furnaces a downdraft or downflow furnace and an updraft or upflow furnace.
This typically does not pull a significant amount of air from outside because that would waste a lot of by displacing heated air to outside.
But during a wildfire they can pour unhealthy air into your home s interiors.
The furnace is now a closed loop system pulling air from the outside and then sending it back out with the combustion gases.
This return air intake grille typically includes some type of filter to keep dust and debris out while allowing air to pass through.
Your home furnace air intake location depends on where the furnace is.
It is then heated by the furnace and distributed through the home.
The indoor portion of your unit has an air conditioner return air intake usually located on the ceiling.
The flow of air.
The other air loop is through the ducts in the house.
Since high efficiency furnaces draw air directly from outside the furnace itself does not require a fresh air intake in order to replace inside air that otherwise would have been drawn from the room the furnace is located in.
Houses are not airtight though.
It is easy to install a fresh air intake for a furnace.
To keep smoky air outside close the intake using the damper.
High efficiency furnace combustion intake from inside or outside.
Typically the fresh air intake will be located in your attic or ducted to the return side of the home s central air handler.
Typically a furnace will suck air from inside of the house probably the vent behind your couch pass it over the heat exchanger and blow the now hot air out of the vents in your rooms.
The concentric kit will only require that you enlarge the existing vent opening one pipe size if you have a 2 exhaust you will need a hole to accept a 3 concentric vent if it s a 3 now you will need a 4.
Due to high efficiency furnaces having their own fresh air intake no air is drawn from inside your home.
On the other hand if you were using the inside volume of air in the house for combustion it would be pulling it into the furnace and sending it right outside.