Attic air handlers

[iseegold]

About to buy a ranch in central Jersey, no central air. I thought an attic air handler was the way to go, being that the vents could be installed in the celing. But from what I'm reading in the forum it doesn't seem that the attic is the best place for it. There is a crawl space. Any sugestions? What about duct-less units?

[exquid97]

I live in southeastern Pa...I have put a lot of central ac systems in attics, and will continue to do so, different people have different theories on what is right and what is wrong. Cold air wants to fall...so i can't think of a better spot than having my ac register on the ceiling. I would make sure the duct work was tight and insulated on the supply and return and no less than an R-8.0 on the flex leads. If you are worried about cold air in the winter, the registers have dampers that close pretty tightly. mini splits are great, very efficient and very quiet. get a price on both.

[captube]

There is nothing wrong with putting it in the attic as long as it is installed properly with safety pan under the unit and proper platform and walkway with lighting for future service and pm.s.
In hot climates it may not be the best place. In your case it would probably be more centrally located for shorter duct runs.

[catmanacman]

95% Of All New Homes In South Texas Have Air Handlers Or Furnaces In The Attic Great Place To Put It Also Makes It Easy To Have Multiple Return Air

[bobb25]

Attic air handlers are great, they allow for one large return air filter grill that lets the filter be easily changed.

[platchford]

I would probably go with the attic installation in your area. We are in Baltimore and install a lot of air handlers in the attic. As others have said, be sure you have everything well-insulated. Since you mention the crawl space, I'll ask how much headroom is in said crawlspace? More than likely not enough to allow ease of servicing etc., but perhaps I am making too much of an assumption? :cool:


Cold air wants to fall...
Cold air doesn't fall... heat rises. :D ;)

[bobb25]

Cold air doesn't fall... heat rises. :D ;)Correct, but do you know why?

[skippedover]

Yup. For the same reason warm water rises. It's all got to do with special anti-gravity atoms at the sub-atomic level. The Air Force is actively persuing those particles but they havn't conquered them yet. But when they do.....whooweeee. We gonna see some great UFO's then!

[t527ed]

have done plenty of attic systems, much better than in the crawl space.

less moisture and critters to deal with.:D

[platchford]

Correct, but do you know why?

A given weight of warm air (say 1 lb) takes up more space than the same weight of cool air... therefore it is less dense and therefore it "floats" on the cooler air. Why does it take up more space? This follows Charles Law for a constant pressure. The principle is that gas volume changes as temperature changes (not getting into discussion of absolute temperature since it is not as important to this particular question) given a constant pressure. In reality, as the warm air "rises" there would technically be a small decrease in pressure (as it is now a little higher above sea level than before) but it is negligible and would only contribute to the expansion of the air. ;)

[captube]

Yup. For the same reason warm water rises. It's all got to do with special anti-gravity atoms at the sub-atomic level. The Air Force is actively persuing those particles but they havn't conquered them yet. But when they do.....whooweeee. We gonna see some great UFO's then!

Here is 1 of their top scientist in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac-T3Ts4G6w

[exquid97]

Cold air doesn't fall... heat rises. :D ;)[/QUOTE]

You're right, I stand corrected, heat rises, hot goes to cold, hold an ice cube in your hand it's not the ice cube that feels cold it's the heat leaving your body, I got it...never had much luck explaining it to a homeowner.

[AcDOCnTRAINING]

I say they are a pain in the azz to work on, here in florida an attic is 140 degrees at times. Also the h/o sticks up there all there junk plus the insulation :mad:, we avoid putting a system up there unless its the very last option.

[jlt31]

Here in va most airhandlers are in attic, much better place to put them than crawl. Easier to service and out of damp enviroment.