Installing A Furnance In Your Attic

A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic.

Installing a furnance in your attic.

Space in your home is limited. In flood prone areas instaling a furnace in the attic provides protection. As long as the attic furnace is professionally installed you can expect a more even heating distribution through your house. Just installing the furnace in the attic crawl way of a single story home gives protection from most flooding.

Well mainly it s a way to save space. An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan. Selecting a unit that fits your needs is half the battle. We re getting proposals to install a new central ac and gas furnace in the attic of our home.

So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. There are rarely instances when we will advise against an attic installation. Attic furnace installation must comply with you local mechanical code or imc international mechanical code if such was adopted in your area. It is a reflection that your furnace might be old.

Ideally you will have room for your furnace in the attic but installation up there can be difficult to manage. Although it is common for an attic furnace installation to occur in some parts of the united states this design is usually an older one that reflects a lack of knowledge about energy loss. It s easier for technicians to service a closet furnace although the difference isn t too significant. Installing a furnace can be a difficult home improvement job to undertake.

The attic is a sealed space by polyurethane foam and will need a combustion air source. Attic hvac systems save space. Attic furnace passageway and service area electrical requirement. There is a common misconception that this is not possible for high efficiency furnaces.

The trick to the installation of a gas furnace in an attic space is routing the condensate drain from the attic down through the core of the house to the basement. The following are attic furnace installation requirements based on 2009 irc and 2009 imc the codes refer to it as appliances in attics. Even when furnaces are put on the main floor floodwaters often overrun the first floor causing severe damage to the unit. To do that you need to buy a new sealed combustion furnace with a ducted source of combustion air.

The right thing to do is to enclose the attic install insulation along the roof plane and bring the furnace into the conditioned area of your home.