27 reviews of attic bright hvac services crawl space solutions my family and i have had a rodent problem in our attic for which some time now and we ve constantly been trying to handle it on our own but it just wasn t good enough.
Hvac in attic or crawl space.
The evaporator coil is in the air handler.
While the attic install isn t ideal it beats the problems that come with ducts.
Insulate the exterior walls.
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.
A crawl space by nature is a special area of the home having both benefits and detractions when locating a unit.
Now your sealed and insulated attic and your hvac duct system is protected from extreme temperatures like your crawlspace or basement.
Knowing the disadvantages of attic install and the crawl space install.
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.
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.
Seal supply boxes with mastic.
Installing a heating ventilation and air conditioning hvac unit in a crawl space presents an entire series of pros and cons.
Strap ducts out of insulation with 3 ductstraps per specifications.
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.
I vote for the attic.
And you win big time.
The first and possibly most important thing is to make a commitment to yourself to change your hvac filters regularly.
In that case the condenser is located outside and the air handler located inside the house attic garage or crawl space.
A hvac unit in a crawl space presents special concerns.
There can be moisture issues in the crawlspace but i would deal with that before choosing to put the ducting in the attic.
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.