Attic Furnace Not Heating

A malfunctioning furnace might not be a big deal in california but when you start moving up north it can be downright dangerous when your furnace won t turn on.

Attic furnace not heating. A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic. An outdoor unit which houses the fan condenser and compressor and an indoor unit which holds the evaporator and fan. Attic hvac systems save space. Attic furnaces take advantage of the closer proximity to use shorter lengths of air.

It will not require long lengths of pipe to deliver heat to the rooms as a basement furnace does. Some homeowners find that the heat which an attic in the furnace provides is not always the most comfortable way to improve an indoor environment. An attic furnace is closer to the upper stories of a multi level home. Air ducts lose a fair amount of heat through leakage so shorter lengths are more efficient.

Unless your roofing system has insulation on the roofing deck and is designed without ventilation your furnace should not be heating your attic. Most updated central air conditioned homes have a new air conditioner split system meaning the ac is broken up into parts. So why put an hvac system up in the attic at all. And in most cases the decision between natural gas or heating oil is already made for you based on the fuel source available for.

In fact if you get far enough north you run the risk of all sorts of secondary problems like frozen water lines and condensation problems not to mention it s just plain cold. Older or historic homes for instance often featured much smaller heating systems than the modern ones we install today. High efficiency furnaces aren t usually recommended for an attic. Poor insulation is usually the culprit although if you enter the attic on sunny winter day your attic space can be warmed by the sun more than your furnace.

There is a common misconception that this is not possible for high efficiency furnaces. The heat from an attic in the furnace doesn t always feel comfortable. Blocking air increases the air pressure in your air ducts which may both cause and worsens airflow leaks particularly at joints and seams. When your search for a new furnaces starts heating up keep in mind that not all models are created equally.

There are rarely instances when we will advise against an attic installation. Well mainly it s a way to save space. However not every home has a pre existing designated space for a system. 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.

Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space. Because the warmer air comes from ducts that are at ceiling level in each room the unit creates a warm air fan.