06 15 2007 09 55 am 1.
Furnace in unconditioned attic.
View profile view forum posts view forum threads professional member join date jun 2006 posts 36 post likes installing a 95 gas fired furnace in an unconditioned attic.
A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic.
Ted also has inherited a powered attic ventilator.
Because the furnace is installed in the attic so are air ducts which deliver air to your rooms.
Efficiency losses in unconditioned spaces outweigh gains.
That moisture can freeze if it receives exposure to exceptionally cold temperatures.
According to the u s department of energy the furnace s energy efficiency can drop by 35 when installed in an unconditioned space like the attic.
That means having it placed in the attic or a crawl space is a bad idea because you are increasing the risk of causing.
Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space.
Most homeowners should not place a condensing furnace in an unconditioned space because the unit will produce water as it heats the air.
Heated air flowing through those ducts will lose heat when the unconditioned attic is cold forcing the furnace to run longer.
The 1 800 square foot brick ranch in climate zone 4 dates from the 1960s but the previous owner installed both a furnace and ductwork in the attic just four years ago.
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 drain must be installed through the core of the house as water will be flowing during the colder months.
This drain removes the excess water that a heating system will generate.
An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan.
The unconditioned space also houses his hvac system.
With all that said you can generally count on attic placement being a bad idea in part because high efficiency furnaces which dominate the market today just can t function in attic space usually due to both the volume of air necessary for operation and because of safety considerations.
Ted has more than a few cobwebs in his attic.
Attic hvac systems save space.
So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all.
Well mainly it s a way to save space.
