HVAC in the attic?

[LC '92]

Bird, your a cynic and also wrong. In all the years of building houses here in Texas, I have NEVER had anyone request a vertical unit. We have built upwards of 2000 houses now and have done some very unusual things per home buyers request, but never this one. Houses range from $100,000.00 to over $1,000,000.00 and nary a request for what your suggesting. Make up your own mind if any of these folks "know anything about air conditioning". After all this is only Texas and HVAC's here only run about 9 months out of the year.

You represent the cynical part of home buyers we see all the time. Always accusing the home builder of cutting costs at the expense of the buyer. We will gladly provide and warrant these units to any home owner that would ask and pay the upcharge. For that matter, we will include any changes provided the home owner will pay the difference. That is fair isn't it?

Consumer losing out my foot!

 

[Bird]

Bird, your a cynic and also wrong.

A cynic? Absolutely right. Also wrong? Maybe, but I doubt it.

I have no idea who you work for, and even if I knew, I probably would not know how good they are. But I, too, have lived in Texas for more than 50 years. I did start life in southern Oklahoma. You've never had anyone request a vertical unit. Have you ever mentioned it to a potential buyer to let them know they have that choice? Maybe you have, but I'd bet not. You may do a great job of building homes, but many home buyers don't know enough about building houses to request the right things. In fact, from what I've seen, the majority of the buyers of new homes quickly find several things they wish they'd thought of before buying. I bought a new house in '72 and another new one in '77; both with vertical units that never gave me any problems. In all your years of building houses in Texas . . . how many years is that. I've never heard of a house being built with units in the attic prior to about 1991. And yep, I'm gettin' on in years, so I guess you probably figure 1991 was a long time ago. This house was built in 1991; the HVAC system was built in 1999. So I'm only guessing, but it appears that maybe the first system lasted 8 years and now this one is over 8 years old.

And maybe I'm wrong, but I'd bet money that you'll sell more vertical units that attic units if you ask potential buyers which they want, and tell them the truth about future maintenance costs.

 

[kenmac]

bird, add a safety float switch install it in the drain pan & wire it to the thermostat wires . That way , if the drain stops up, the water rises trips the float switch turns the a/c off. Like u said , Increasing the drain size to 1'' will also help prevent stoppage. I even install water heaters in the attic. My W.H. is in the attic. Code requirs a drain pan for W.H. with a min. 1'' drain. When I install a W.H. in the attic. I custom fab a larger drain pan & install a 2'' drain

 

[Sigarms]

And maybe I'm wrong, but I'd bet money that you'll sell more vertical units that attic units if you ask potential buyers which they want, and tell them the truth about future maintenance costs.

In North and South Carolina, horizontal applications are the norm.

Comes down to where you live and house construction (because that construction can be affected by where you live).

There is no difference between maintance and warranty if the unit is installed in a horizontal, counterflow or upflow configuration.

 

[robison]

Up here in Massachusetts my AC runs 4-5 months of the year. I have the air handlers in the attic, and I've not had any problems. I am an engineer and did/oversaw the system designs for this house myself.

I disagree with the statement that there's an inherent compromise to an attic mounted air handler. The fact is, for AC you want to have your ducts on the ceiling, not the floor. The attic is therefore the logical place for ducting and the handler.

To address the service issue, I placed a trapdoor and a hoist point near the handler, through which pieces could be lowered to the living room floor should major repair ever be needed.

I installed a door and service walkway, and lighting. So upkeep is not an issue, either, any more than if it were in a closet. And the attic is certainly roomier than any closet.

I don't know what to say about drains other than that they are not a source of trouble for me.

Really, the only thing I wish I'd done different in my climate control was geothermal. I wish I had buried condensor piping for the heat pumps underground instead of using aboveground air-air condensors.

 

[Bill Barrett]

Didn't read all the posts, but didn't see the one thing that costs money!
If you install your HVAC equipment and ducts out of the houses envelope ie. attic you have a inherent energy loss of up to 30% . Run a heat loss heat gain with duct in the attic or out of the controlled environment and see the difference. Look up Doug Rye. Doug Rye Energy Effeciency Testimonials Safety pan a must and code most places.

 

[Sigarms]

If you install your HVAC equipment and ducts out of the houses envelope ie. attic you have a inherent energy loss of up to 30% . Run a heat loss heat gain with duct in the attic or out of the controlled environment and see the difference.

In my unconditioned attic, I'm running a 18 degree temperature drop across the coil on a 90 degree plus day (120 dgrees in the attic). The house was built in '88.

Tight, well insulated ductwork is key in any unconditioned space.

 

[kenmac]

Didn't read all the posts, but didn't see the one thing that costs money!
If you install your HVAC equipment and ducts out of the houses envelope ie. attic you have a inherent energy loss of up to 30% . Run a heat loss heat gain with duct in the attic or out of the controlled environment and see the difference. Look up Doug Rye. Doug Rye Energy Effeciency Testimonials Safety pan a must and code most places.

There are a lot of systems installed out of the envlope around here, I've installed them
I guess crawl spaces would be considered out of the envlope. Sometimes, I'd rather be in an attic than a crawl space.

 

[Sigarms]

There are a lot of systems installed out of the envlope around here, I've installed them
I guess crawl spaces would be considered out of the envlope. Sometimes, I'd rather be in an attic than a crawl space.

Hey, putting a horizontal oil furnace with a side shot power venter in a crawl space builds character!

You know kenmac, I thought of you. When my new toy comes in I'm going to post pics just for you

 

[kenmac]

Hey, putting a horizontal oil furnace with a side shot power venter in a crawl space builds character!

You know kenmac, I thought of you. When my new toy comes in I'm going to post pics just for you

Come on, At least, give me a hint