Hvac In Attic Or Crawl Space

A hvac unit in a crawl space presents special concerns.

Hvac in attic or crawl space.

Now your sealed and insulated attic and your hvac duct system is protected from extreme temperatures like your crawlspace or basement. The first and possibly most important thing is to make a commitment to yourself to change your hvac filters regularly. Insulate the exterior walls. Seal supply boxes with mastic.

In that case the condenser is located outside and the air handler located inside the house attic garage or crawl space. Knowing the disadvantages of attic install and the crawl space install. Installing a heating ventilation and air conditioning hvac unit in a crawl space presents an entire series of pros and cons. A heat pump can either be a package system which has one cabinet mounted against foundation or on rooftop or it can be a split system with two cabinets.

If there is a dirt or gravel floor put down a vapor barrier then seal it off with concrete slurry. Insulate and air seal the floor with open cell foam put ductwork and mechanicals in the attic install a radiant barrier and mastic seal the ducts. After understanding what benefits and detractions are in place a homeowner can make an informed decision whether to place or not to place an hvac unit in the crawl space. Strap ducts out of insulation with 3 ductstraps per specifications.

While the attic install isn t ideal it beats the problems that come with ducts. Having your hvac system in your attic isn t dire though you ll need to do some work to keep your air conditioner or furnace system running as efficiently as possible. That same ac system that could never cool your bedrooms now with a sealed and insulated attic is providing supply airflow temperatures on par with the same unit located under a house. Throw some heat cooling down there and turn it into conditioned space.

It s one thing to install hvac in a crawl space during construction but 15 20 years in the future after your flooring above that crawlspace is installed it s going to be tough to replace a hvac unit in a 36 tall crawl space. The evaporator coil is in the air handler. And you win big time. I vote for the attic.