Is There an Advantage to Having a Heating System in an Attic vs. a Crawl Space?

Having a heating system in an attic is becoming more frequent a decision for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. While usual spots to install a home furnace has been the crawl space, basement, or garage, there are several reasons putting it in the attic room may be better.

With the limited space in a lot of attics, servicing a furnace or heating system in an attic may be more difficult. This depends on your house and space. However, the advantages can exceed the difference in annual filter changes or the few occasions when maintenance is required. Preferably, a furnace placed in an attic would have its own insulated utility room with adequate room to service it conveniently, which would certainly supply year-round defense from temperature changes.

Attic Pros

Area Saving

Cellars were once for keeping food, supplies, and canned veggies. More recently, for more homes and families, basements are valuable parts of the house and living style. They may be bars, play areas, living rooms, mancaves, extra bedrooms or plenty of other great ideas.

So placing a furnace or HVAC system somewhere else makes sense if you want a basement to be a great place to hang out. Placing a heating system in the attic makes good sense since it frees up space. In areas with high water tables, furnaces are installed on a higher floor. Placing them in an attic gives you more primary living space.

Flood Security

In flood-prone locations, installing a furnace in the attic provides additional security. Also when furnaces are put on the main flooring, floodwaters can overrun the first floor, creating serious damage to the system. Simply setting up the heating system in an attic space of a home gives defense from an unlikely, yet potentially very serious, flood

More Efficient Ducts

A heating system based in the attic is closer to the upper stories of a multi-level residence. Your system will not need long ducts and a lot of ductwork to supply heat to all areas when compared to a furnace or HVAC in a crawl space or basement. Ducts can lose a reasonable amount of heat with leaks, so shorter sizes are extra efficient. Attic heating systems make the most of the closer distance to utilize much shorter sizes of ducts.

If You Need a Second Furnace

Building new floors or new additions to a home, adding new people to new rooms, or using new rooms more than ever before, can make a second furnace required to heat all of it. Putting the second unit in the attic, where it likely is more efficient to the new floors or busier spaces, could be the best idea. It’s likely better than renovating or destroying a part of the basement to put in a second furnace. The new heating system can be installed in the attic during construction. This will make access convenient for the homeowner and any technicians. The air ducts for the new system will maximize heat delivery and efficiency.

Independent Heating

A heater in the attic gives warmth to the upper floors. The capacity to target and control the temperature more exactly to upper floors can save energy as well as make the environment much more comfortable for your family. For residences that convert the upper story to a rental space, placing a heating system in the attic provides a great climate control system to the renters who can manage (and pay for) their own heat and air.

Crawl Space Pros

Putting a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in the crawl space of your house has a whole collection of advantages and disadvantages. A crawl space by nature is a unique location of the house, having both positives and negatives for installing a furnace there, then what it means for working on the system and how the system works for your whole house. After finding out the benefits and negatives, a property owner can make an educated choice about whether to place the cooling and heating units in the crawl space.

More Yard Space

A heat pump, air, or HVAC device takes up space on a property. If your lawn is already tight or small, every little bit of it matters. Moreover, if an out doors swimming pool is to be set up, zoning laws may regulate how close a swimming pool or hot tub can be to a cooling and heating system. Installing the system in the crawl space is an effective use of wasted areas.

Appearances

No one would say a furnace or heating system is pretty or stylish for your yard. They are big, bulky metal boxes usually painted grey. Engineers who build the furnaces, then the technicians who put them in on your property, don’t give much thought to how they’ll look near your home. Then, to boot, the system may be loud when it kicks on. If you care about the look or landscaping of your yard, the HVAC units stick out like a sore thumb. Putting the boxes in the crawl space, if it’s a possibility, hides the boxes from sight.

Protection from the Weather

When placed outdoors, an HVAC unit is not protected from the weather or any other natural conditions. Continuous wear on the components takes its toll on all the parts. Every type of terrain or climate in a region has its unique weather worries. There may be wind, cold, salt, tornadoes, dry, hot, low-lying, pollen, or a ton of other factors. Placing the cooling and heating units in a crawl space, is safer from the weather. This may well give you better efficiency and a longer lifespan.

At South End Heating and Air, we specialize in HVAC and furnace repair, call us for a free consult. We’ll evaluate your system and help make recommendations for optimum value. After all, we want to keep you cool all summer long and warm in the winter. Just schedule a visit with one of our technicians to talk about how we can help with your heating needs. Would you like to learn more options our techs can help you with? Give us a call 704-684-5339.

Also, check out South End Plumbing for all your plumbing-related needs.