Attic Door Insulation

The easiest solution is to have air return grills that hold filters. Then they're changed within the house and not in the attic.

Supply vents are small, air return grills are the larger ones.

Get a ladder installed. Make sure the width of the opening is at least 25-26 inches wide to aid in repairing / replacing equipment in the future.

Also floor an area of the attic to be able to get to the equipment to service it. (If it's not already) --There should be clearance of at least 30" around the equipment for servicing. I prefer closer to 3ft of clearance.

Then install what is called an attic tent. It has zippers and form fitted to extend up and give room for the attic ladder.

Click to enlarge picture below. (Attic Tent)

I service the Katy, Texas area.

You've got two alternatives: either improve access to the unit for routine filter changes or make the filters themselves more accessible by installing them in the return grills as Elmer suggested. I'd do the latter in lieu of the ladder.

So in this case do we think the contractor was clueless about the existence of the pull down stair cover, or was he didn't want to be bothered installing a pull down stair?

Post a photo of the return air grille? That will help determine the feasibility of installing moving the filter.

My preference would be to install a 4 inch media filter in the attic and then have the pulldown stairs to make it easy to change every 6 - 12 months. As a homeowner you also want to be able to go into the attic and check if the condensate drain is free of clogs and draining properly. Hopefully this HVAC contractor has installed an overflow cut off switch and tested it works properly.

We have pull down stairs into our attic. My DH solved insulating them!

His sister was getting rid of her hot tub, so he took half of the hot tub cover and put it in the attic. When you pull down the stairs you just have to slide the cover over, its it’s really light!!

My parents built a styrofoam box over the pull-down attic stairs. Easy to move, solved the insulation problem.

" My preference would be to install a 4 inch media filter "

Remember that air filters are to keep particles out of the air handler/furnace and coil passages, not to clean the air in the home.

I've been told by two different HVAC contractors (two different locations) that the best practice these days is to use the LEAST restrictive filters available. Meaning, an inch or two thick, low MERV number. Reason being - more restrictive filters cut down on air flow (which most systems don't have enough of anyway) and put needless additional strain on the blower motor.

HVAC design has been more focused on maintaining comfortable indoor conditions than indoor air quality. A centralized system that does both is a tall order. Keep in mind that air filtration options which are integrated with centralized HVAC systems only function when the air handler is operating. There are a variety of portable, stand-alone air purifiers which operate continuously. I'd rather place portable air purifiers where they make sense and which operate continuously and are easily serviced than take my chances on folding or retractable attic stairs a couple of times a year.

I've been told by two different HVAC contractors (two different locations) that the best practice these days is to use the LEAST restrictive filters available.

I agree you should use the least restrictive filters available. However a 4 inch filter is not more restrictive than a 1 or 2 inch if it is made of the same material and has the same MERV rating.. A properly designed 4 inch filter has more surface area compared to a thinner filter. The 4 inch can last longer between replacements. I suggested this only as a way to reduce the amount of trips into the attic.

When you use a return grill (which are always in the living space) that holds a thin filter, there are no trips into the attic.

I'm really not sure why the dumb HVAC practice was ever started, that of putting equipment in attics and crawl spaces where access is difficult even for the pros. In my area, where basements are rare and accessible attics the same (other than through a trap opening high in a ceiling and without stairs), HVAC equipment is usually in an attached garage. Or, secondarily, an interior closet. Filters are easily accessible, as is all the equipment for servicing.

I bought a second home a handful of years ago, a house built in a neighborhood development. The furnace and HVAC coil are in the attic (such a dumb place in both seasonal extremes) but the return grills hold filters and are easily accessed in the home.

I agree it is another method. I was just stating my preference and ideas.

The "least restrictive" filters won't perform particularly well as air filters. That said, there is no reason that appropriate filter media can't be incorporated in an HVAC system. The pressure drop across the filter needs to be considered in the design phase. The problem is that what passes as "design" in residential HVAC usually falls far short of legitimate design.

Of course. Equipment oversized and ducts undersized. And when I right-sized equipment in both locations, the ducts were still undersized for the required flows.

@mike_home Here is the return (not too far from the crawl space access). I sent the contractors this thread several days ago with everyone’s better suggestions- but haven’t heard anything back.

This is interesting. I see two tabs on one side of the grille. Are you able to push the tabs and open the grille be swinging it downward? Here is an example of a 24" X 24" return air filter grille. Are you sure the filter is in the attic and not behind the grille in the photo?

If the filter is in the attic, then it would not be too difficult to replace the grille with one that holds of filter if you don't want to deal with the installing attic pull down stairs. You still need a way for a HVAC tech to get up into the attic for maintenance. The filter in the attic would need to be removed. You can't have two filters in series.

Marilyn,

Your duct work, at least for the system servicing the level shown in the photo, is in the attic--not the crawl space. A crawl space is a foundation. The return grill shown may be able to accommodate a filter, but, If not, the grill can be replaced with one that can at minimal cost