Air Handler in attic or basement?

16 years ago

We're building a 2000 sq. ft. ranch house with a full walk-out basement, to be finished later. The basement is already framed to include a 10'5 x 10'2 utility room. We had planned to have all HVAC components, water heater, electric panels, and low-voltage components in that room. Today the HVAC guy asked why we're not putting the air handler in the attic. He says if we finish the basement, we might need to put that HVAC system in the utility room. I don't want to harm efficiency by having our unit in a very hot attic. Any opinions?

We're in VA and installing elec. heatpump.

Featured Answer

creek_side

16 years ago

Basement -- and get an new HVAC guy. We just built a ranch about the same size, also with a walkout. Ours is partially finished at this time. We have a similar sized equipment room. The air handler is in the equipment room.

In my view, the suggestion to put the air handler in the attic when you have basement space available is insane, especially if it is a conventional vented attic.

The access issue alone kills the attic installation as far as I am concerned. There are plenty of other reasons not to put it up there.

BTW, make sure your equipment room has a floor drain. It's important both for the air handler and the water heater.

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Comments (8)

classicdave
16 years ago
a system is always best in a conditioned space.
Next would be in a unconditioned space
last spot you want is in a space that retains heat like your attic.
nothing will cut the life of your system like an attic.
tigerdunes
16 years ago
wear your baby

I agree with classicdave

my first choice would be a utility room-keep in mind you want an area convenient to handle and drain condensate.

IMO
Good Luck!
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david_cary
16 years ago
Well - I'm just going to be devil's advocate and I could see things getting pretty tight in a 10x10 area. Next - the duct work for the basement will be bouncing off the ductwork for the main floor as they will have to run in the same floor joists.

I have a slightly bigger utility area and a second HVAC system would definitely be crowded. Not impossible at all but starting to be a pain to the installer.

Also to be fair, most attics have ductwork in them since most houses are not ranches. So the HVAC guy is just used to that. And with good duct sealing and insulation, the loss in efficiency is not that bad. Obviously, ducts in conditioned space or basement is superior, but like I said, just playing devil's advocate.
creek_side
16 years ago
A ranch with a walkout basement doesn't need two systems. The heating/cooling load of the basement is negligible, compared to the main floor. It's more economical to simply install a system that can handle both. It will be just slightly larger than a system sized for the main floor alone.

The basement should be a separate zone, which can be done with automatic or manual dampers (except in NC, which for some strange reason outlawed manual dampers for zoning).

Our ranch has four dampers, one each on the main level supply trunk, basement supply trunk, main level return trunk, and basement return trunk. It works fine.
wear_your_baby
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your replies. We are meeting with him tomorrow and will find out more about his reasoning. Of course efficiency and unit life is very important to us, so we were leaning toward the basement in the first place.

And yes, Creek Side, there is a floor drain in the utility room. Thanks for the reminder though.
William Wheeler
5 years ago
I see that this is an old thread but I am curious as to which direction you went and how it worked out
HU-148932179
4 years ago
I am also curious