Installing A Furnance In Your Attic

Attic furnace installation must comply with you local mechanical code or imc international mechanical code if such was adopted in your area.

Installing a furnance in your attic.

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. As long as the attic furnace is professionally installed you can expect a more even heating distribution through your house. 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. In flood prone areas instaling a furnace in the attic provides protection.

There is a common misconception that this is not possible for high efficiency furnaces. A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic. My plan was to get a high efficiency gas fired furnace in lieu of a heat pump or electric furnace. Even when furnaces are put on the main floor floodwaters often overrun the first floor causing severe damage to the unit.

Attic furnace access passageway and platform. Installing a furnace can be a difficult home improvement job to undertake. It s easier for technicians to service a closet furnace although the difference isn t too significant. 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 is a reflection that your furnace might be old. Most updated central air conditioned homes have a new air conditioner split system meaning the ac is broken up into parts. So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. To do that you need to buy a new sealed combustion furnace with a ducted source of combustion air.

Attic hvac systems save space. We re getting proposals to install a new central ac and gas furnace in the attic of our home. There are rarely instances when we will advise against an attic installation. Just installing the furnace in the attic crawl way of a single story home gives protection from most flooding.

The following are attic furnace installation requirements based on 2009 irc and 2009 imc the codes refer to it as appliances in attics. An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan. Space in your home is limited. The attic is a sealed space by polyurethane foam and will need a combustion air source.

Ideally you will have room for your furnace in the attic but installation up there can be difficult to manage.