Furnace In Attic Safe

A furnace in the attic is a design that works for all homes.

Furnace in attic safe.

Keep bathroom fans and window units turned off. There are rarely instances when we will advise against an attic installation. That puts a real drag on the efficiency of your unit whether it s an air conditioner or a furnace. The biggest advantage of having an attic furnace is that it s a space saver.

Furnaces installed in attics can be vulnerable to breakdowns since they can be largely forgotten when not in. It s just as safe for it to be in the attic as it is in the basement. Attics are often ventilated to the outdoors and are not typically part of the air conditioned space in the home. Keep a 90 percent furnace out of an attic if you have cold temperatures.

If it s less than 90 percent it will be less efficient. There s usually nothing up in an attic aside from some stored items so a furnace won t take up useful space. 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. A home s furnace is commonly located in a secluded area from a closet to a basement.

Even when furnaces are put on the main floor floodwaters often overrun the first floor causing severe damage to the unit. You ll also free up a closet. In flood prone areas instaling a furnace in the attic provides protection. Bathroom fans and window box fans commonly pull outside air into your home so they should be shut off during a fire advisory.

You might not receive the same air movement benefits if the unit is in a garage either. With all that said you can generally count on attic placement being a bad idea in part because high efficiency furnaces which dominate the market today just can t function in attic space usually due to both the volume of air necessary for operation and because of safety considerations. 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. As a result any air leaks here mean the air goes outdoors.

If the closet is next to one of the bathrooms as it often is this gives you a nice remodeling opportunity. This drain removes the excess water that a heating system will generate.