Attic heat pump/air conditioner and hot upstairs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a construction "crime" to put any component of hvac in an "unconditioned" attic. You are fighting nature at 160F temps to cool below, even if well insulated, which contractors rarely do. At some point there will be code to to outlaw bad practice.

As an HVAC contractor I can't see how the insurance industry hasn't forced a code change to disallow mechanical equipment in unconditioned spaces. I cannot begin to tell you how much property damage and even near deaths I have seen over the years.

Near deaths and property damage? From what?

Near Deaths:

Brother & Sister In Law had a gas furnace in their attic zone. Sister in law was putting clothes away in their bedroom closet on afternoon and noticed the ceiling was glowing orange after she flicked the light off. Most of their upstairs ceiling collapsed raining down flaming debris as she ran down their stairs. If it had happened a few hours later while they where sleeping it would have killed the whole family. Fire marshal pinpointed a gas leak in the attic supply line.

Customer had residual water in their condensate line freeze and crack over the winter. First night they ran the A/C the following spring the water leaked on plaster ceiling in their daughter's bedroom. About 800 lbs of wet plaster fell on the bed. Thankfully the daughter was at a sleepover. I could not believe the amount of damage the plaster did to the wood furniture in the room. You would have thought an anvil got dropped from an airplane; headboard was splinters.

Damage: Fire/ Water obviously. The general homeowner would be pretty shocked by what the inside of an air handler looks like after it hangs out a few summers in an unconditioned attic or crawlspace; mold

I agree that HVAC equipment should never be in unconditioned space. But I have to play the skeptic on the first one. How did being in the attic cause the gas leak? It sounds like it could have happened anywhere in the house.

A good friend fell through the attic ceiling two stories below. He went up to attaic to investigate a leak (AC condensate) and then carelessly stepped onto the attic floor (drywall)....you can guess what happend next. He survived but took years to recover. This is why I call it a "crime".....

[Anonymous]

I agree that HVAC equipment should never be in unconditioned space. But I have to play the skeptic on the first one. How did being in the attic cause the gas leak? It sounds like it could have happened anywhere in the house.

A good friend fell through the attic ceiling two stories below. He went up to attaic to investigate a leak (AC condensate) and then carelessly stepped onto the attic floor (drywall)....you can guess what happend next. He survived but took years to recover. This is why I call it a "crime".....

Gas leaks can certainly happen anywhere between the meter and appliance. The attic compounded the situation by not allowing the leak to be easily discovered; having large poorly ventilated areas for gas to settle, and not allowing for the fire to be detected by the alarm system. The entire top floor of that house went from normal to inferno in a second without warning.

Always hate the hear those stories. Over the winter the loss control advisor from our insurance company shared me a story about a homeowner and contractor that both where killed after falling through a ceiling while they where trying to look at a roof leak in the attic. And people wonder why I don't sleep at night.

[Anonymous]

We have an attic heat pump. It gets checked twice a year by a company and my husband goes up there once a month to check the lines, etc.

No mold. It is ten years old. Trane. It also has a float switch. which will stop the water issues from impacting the ceiling drywall if we did get a condensate line clog.

while I agree a unit of that type probably should not be in an attic- with proper care they are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have an attic heat pump. It gets checked twice a year by a company and my husband goes up there once a month to check the lines, etc.

No mold. It is ten years old. Trane. It also has a float switch. which will stop the water issues from impacting the ceiling drywall if we did get a condensate line clog.

while I agree a unit of that type probably should not be in an attic- with proper care they are fine.

Just because it can work doesn't mean it's a good idea. There are lots of things that are prohibited by code that can work under certain circumstances. HVAC equipment in unconditioned space is one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an attic heat pump. It gets checked twice a year by a company and my husband goes up there once a month to check the lines, etc.

No mold. It is ten years old. Trane. It also has a float switch. which will stop the water issues from impacting the ceiling drywall if we did get a condensate line clog.

while I agree a unit of that type probably should not be in an attic- with proper care they are fine.

Just because it can work doesn't mean it's a good idea. There are lots of things that are prohibited by code that can work under certain circumstances. HVAC equipment in unconditioned space is one of them.

Side note. Code is the absolute minimum focused homeowners “safety and health” not quality nor efficiency. Anyone who tells you they “build to code” and act like they you will be getting quality, run FAST.