Central Air In The Attic

Most updated central air conditioned homes have a new air conditioner split system meaning the ac is broken up into parts.

Central air in the attic.

If you have a horizontal furnace in an attic the evaporator coil will sit on one end of the furnace instead of on top. Central air in the attic not sure about the access size but the place to start which should have been done by your contractor before this unit was installed is to determine the correct size. This is the piece of your air conditioning system that most people never see. An attic can get up to about 130 f in the summer and the conditioned air entering the ducts is about 55 f or so.

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. If you don t have forced air the fan and coil system is typically placed in the attic where it will deliver cool air through ducts. The condenser in your air conditioner works hard to get rid of heat and pressurize refrigerant for the return trip through your house. That means you have higher energy costs and less efficiency since you re blowing the air down instead of allowing it to rise naturally.

It s contained in a metal box called a plenum and sits on top of your furnace. So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. Well mainly it s a way to save space. The total drop in efficiency can be up to 35.

With hundreds of square feet of ductwork surface area in the attic and a δt of 75 f the air coming out of the vents in your home will be significantly higher than 55 f. The 20 to 30 foot long pipes that carry the refrigerant are disguised to look like a downspout. Throw duct leakage into the mix and the problems are even worse. That size can vary wildly based upon how well insulated the home is.

Typically this indoor unit gets placed in a cabinet or closet somewhere inside. Put it in an attic full of blown insulation and you re forcing.