Furnace In Attic Or Crawl Space

Don t put your furnace in the attic.

Furnace in attic or crawl space.

So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. Well mainly it s a way to save space. The university of maine recommends proper venting of a crawl space to prevent radon gas buildup. There are two options.

The current ductwork is in the crawlspace and we are replacing it all. Furnaces should be installed in your basement or a mechanical room near the center of your house not in a vented attic vented crawl space or garage. Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space. During the fall we disconnected the old furnace and decided to install a new one in our attic space running new ductwork.

You might not receive the same air movement benefits if the unit is in a garage either. If the crawl space does not have proper ventilation radon concentrates in the trapped air inside the crawl space. If you have a standard efficiency 80 furnace it needs to be in a vented space for proper combustion. In flood prone areas instaling a furnace in the attic provides protection.

Just installing the furnace in the attic crawl way of a single story home gives protection from most flooding. What can you do if you want to encapsulate. Doesn t it need combustion air. What about my furnace.

Attic hvac systems save space. Compare that with the daily 140 degree temperatures found in vented attics. An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan. Things seemed to be fine until we had a sustained cold and windy period.

Even when furnaces are put on the main floor floodwaters often overrun the first floor causing severe damage to the unit. Rarely will a sealed foam insulated attic deviate more than 15 degrees from the living space temperatures below it. Upgrade to a high efficiency furnace. The hvac s air pickup is in the crawl space and it spreads the radon laden air into the house.

We are remodeling a 1950s home with a beast of a furnace in the basement crawlspace area pretty good space down there the home is about 3300 sq feet in northern california we dont get super cold here sometimes some frost on the roof lawn but that s about it. So when we have a choice we prefer hvac systems located under the house. My contractor suggested putting the furnace in the attic. Sadly this illustration comes from the web site of the air conditioning heating and refrigeration institute ahri.

High efficiency furnaces aren t usually recommended for an attic. If you don t have a crawl space or a basement then it can be a challenge to place a furnace on the ground floor of the structure.