Installing High Efficiency Furnace In Attic

I had a new high efficiency furnace installed in my unheated attic and had the same problem of the furnace not running because the condensate trap had ice in it.

Installing high efficiency furnace in attic.

The drain must be installed through the core of the house as water will be flowing during the colder months. I have installed high efficiency furnaces in attics in the past but you would still need a separate compressor unit outside for ac. I didn t get much help from the gc or the hvac contractor he hired so i installed a clamp lamp with a 60 watt bulb to shine on the trap. 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.

This drain removes the excess water that a heating system will generate. Usually this is done after removing the 1950 s original heaters in the lower walls floors. High efficiency furnaces aren t usually recommended for an attic. In our area in southern california it is pretty standard to install the furnace in the attic.

In flood prone areas instaling a furnace in the attic provides protection. The variations in energy efficiency in all of the parts of a home insulation windows air conditioners etc can have a huge effect on energy usage. Hello everyone i recently had a new hvac system installed in my attic. Yes you can put a high efficiency furnace in an attic hose if allowed by your local code.

The furnace is a 58mvb120 120 high efficiency unit. For example a furnace found in most homes is 80 efficient. It is a carrier heat pump system with a propane furnace backup. If you place the furnace in the attic then you must install the infrastructure in the building to force the warm air to the bottom floor.

High efficiency furnaces may be installed in basements ground floor utility rooms garages or attics in open spaces or confined closets. After the installation was done i found out that these high efficiency furnaces are not recommended in the attic because the condensate trap can freeze. A high efficiency furnace could be 90 efficient or it could be 96 efficient. Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space.

Always read the furnace manual and check local building. That means you have higher energy costs and less efficiency since you re blowing the air down instead of allowing it to rise naturally. Just installing the furnace in the attic crawl way of a single story home gives protection from most flooding. Even when furnaces are put on the main floor floodwaters often overrun the first floor causing severe damage to the unit.

I use self regulating heat tape if there is any chance of the condensate line freezing.