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Posted by Don Young on March 27, 2007, 9:48 pm
> wrote:
>
>>Hey folks
>>
>>I live in the suburbs of Cleveland OH in a single-story, L-shaped ranch
>>with
>>hot water baseboard heating. As such, with no ductwork for forced-air
>>ventilation, I have no central air conditioning.
>>
>>Because my attic allows easy access to the ceiling of virtually every room
>>in the house, I've been soliciting estimates for the installation of a
>>central AC system, which would basically be a compressor unit outside
>>plumbed to a fan coil (air handler) unit in the attic with an insulated
>>plenum that would feed insulated flex ducts to each room of the house.
>>Most
>>of the contractors have spec'd one large single 'return' in the main
>>hallway, versus returns in each room, tho some have spec'd that as well.
>>
>>Anyway, that's all well and good, and the estimates are at least
>>cosistent,
>>coming in around $7-9K. However one of the contractors today threw out an
>>option that I hadn't considered...he asked if I wanted a furnace up in the
>>attic as well. The added cost would only be about $700 (I already have gas
>>lines up there).
>>
>>This is REALLY attractive to me, since I have little use for hot water
>>baseboard heating (I know some folks LOVE it, but I'm sick of the
>>maintenance, and just don't like the heat...takes too long to warm things
>>up)
>>
>>Is there any down-side to putting a furnace in the attic? Will operating
>>in
>>the sub-freezing ambient attic temps for the majority of the heating cause
>>the unit any extra wear and tear, or cost me more to heat?
>>
>>And for that matter, does the AC plan sound reasonable?
>>
>>Any thoughts at all would certainly be appreciated.
>
>
> One big downside: heat flows upward, not downward. If cold feet never
> bother you, a furnace in the attic makes sense.
True in a gravity flow only system but a fan can blow heated air in any
direction. A properly designed forced air system will maintain a pretty
uniform temperature throughout the home. Because of seasonal variations it
is difficult to maintain uniformity in multi-story and similar type homes
unless the system is zoned.
Don Young
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