A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic.
Attic furnace installation.
The following are attic furnace installation requirements based on 2009 irc and 2009 imc the codes refer to it as appliances in attics.
Establish the best location for installation of forced air unit and vent.
The original equipment installed when the home was built was supported on the attic floor.
This drain removes the excess water that a heating system will generate.
One proposes suspending the new furnace from the rafters.
It will not require long lengths of pipe to deliver heat to the rooms as a basement furnace does.
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.
Attic furnace installation must comply with you local mechanical code or imc international mechanical code if such was adopted in your area.
An attic in which a fau is installed shall be accessible by an opening and passageway 30 x 30 in size.
In our area in southern california it is pretty standard to install the furnace in the attic.
Usually this is done after removing the 1950 s original heaters in the lower walls floors.
Obtain the furnace manufacturers installation instructions and install the furnace to their specifications.
That makes cheaper to replace a broken unit while reducing the cost for repairs.
Attic furnaces take advantage of the closer proximity to use shorter lengths of air.
The drain must be installed through the core of the house as water will be flowing during the colder months.
When ours was installed in the attic during 2005 the installers put in a nice ceiling door and electrical switches for lighting and furnace master on off switch.
An attic furnace is closer to the upper stories of a multi level home.
Attic furnace passageway and service area electrical requirement.
The inside equipment will be in the attic which is typical for this area.
Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space.
Attic furnace access passageway and platform.
Two of the contractors propose installing the new equipment on the floor like the original system was installed.