Installing Forced Air Furnace In Attic

The following are attic furnace installation requirements based on 2009 irc and 2009 imc the codes refer to it as appliances in attics.

Installing forced air furnace in attic.

Attic furnace access passageway and platform. Well mainly it s a way to save space. Air from the garage can easily get into the house. A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic.

In an electric furnace the air is pushed past heating elements but the principle is the same. When the heating and cooling system is running it s pulling air in. 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. Duct system installation and repairs affect hvac installation cost.

Attic furnaces take advantage of the closer proximity to use shorter lengths of air. It will not require long lengths of pipe to deliver heat to the rooms as a basement furnace does. Since most homes have their hvac system serve multiple functions at once it can be cheaper to install the unit in the attic because the roof access can make inspections. The process starts when the furnace pulls room temperature air in the home into the system.

This one s not as bad as some that i ve seen. High efficiency furnaces aren t usually recommended for an attic. There is a common misconception that this is not possible for high efficiency furnaces. But adding central air is easier and less costly than you might think.

Using natural gas the furnace transfers heat energy to the air through the heat exchanger. Most updated central air conditioned homes have a new air conditioner split system meaning the ac is broken up into parts. How much does it cost to install central air. Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space.

Attic furnace passageway and service area electrical requirement. That grille you see there is a return vent. Air ducts lose a fair amount of heat through leakage so shorter lengths are more efficient. In older homes which used radiant heat this could be a considerable expense.

Forced air systems are usually the cheapest ones to install in homes today and a furnace qualifies as this type of system. So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. Attic hvac systems save space. It s supposed to be pulling air in only from the house but because of air leaks it also pulls air in from the garage.

First let s review how forced air heating systems work. An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan. Attic furnace installation must comply with you local mechanical code or imc international mechanical code if such was adopted in your area. If you re installing a new forced air heating or cooling system your home must have ductwork if you don t have ducts installed a new duct system will need to be designed and installed.

When added to an existing forced air heating system central air for a 2 000 square foot home costs 3 500 to 4 000 and can be done by two technicians in two to three days often with little or no change to the ducting.