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Tommy Botello Posted: Aug 13, 2014 10:45 AM	Heating/Air Unit In Attic Risk? I'm in the middle of a new construction and I've got a ~900sq/ft bonus room in the attic that required it's own heating/air unit. If I'm planning on encapsulating the attic, along with the rest of the house, does that unit pose a carbon monoxide risk? If so, would you suggest building an enclosure around the unit with a vent routed to vent out of the soffit area? Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Mark Mouton Posted: Aug 14, 2014 07:04 AM	You need to ask your HVAC man, but if you are using gas heat then it should probably be a condensing furnace. which is more efficient, and draws it's combustion air from outside. Then you shouldn't need to separate the unit. From an energy efficient standpoint, it's better to have A/C equipment in the conditioned space. Another thought is since the room is already in the conditioned attic, it won't take much to heat or cool it, so you might go electric heat just in the bonus room.
Tommy Botello Posted: Aug 15, 2014 11:48 AM	There isn't gas, it's all electric. Would there be any downside to just spray foaming the attic side of the drywall, thus encapsulating just the living space and leaving the attic vented?
Mark Mouton Posted: Aug 15, 2014 06:08 PM	I'm trying to understand, In your first comment, you said you are encapsulating the attic. Does that mean you are sprayfoaming the roofline and attic walls above the living area making it an unvented or (conditioned) attic? And the bonus room falls into this attic area? Also, I don't think carbon monoxide comes into play with an electric furnace.
Tommy Botello Posted: Aug 15, 2014 07:32 PM	Sorry, I was trying to explain it the best I could. Yes, there's a bonus room above the garage and master bedroom that was determined to need it's own unit. On the other side of the finished walls (in the attic) is where the upstairs unit will sit. I didn't think it would be a problem either, being electric, but I saw a warning sticking on the side of the unit stating the risk of carbon monoxide which only led me to question encapsulating the whole attic. And yes, I intend on sealing the entire attic, making it conditioned. So, you feel it would be okay? Thank you.

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Tommy Botello

Posted: Aug 13, 2014 10:45 AM

Heating/Air Unit In Attic Risk?

I'm in the middle of a new construction and I've got a ~900sq/ft bonus room in the attic that required it's own heating/air unit. If I'm planning on encapsulating the attic, along with the rest of the house, does that unit pose a carbon monoxide risk? If so, would you suggest building an enclosure around the unit with a vent routed to vent out of the soffit area? Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Mark Mouton

Posted: Aug 14, 2014 07:04 AM

You need to ask your HVAC man, but if you are using gas heat then it should probably be a condensing furnace. which is more efficient, and draws it's combustion air from outside. Then you shouldn't need to separate the unit. From an energy efficient standpoint, it's better to have A/C equipment in the conditioned space.
Another thought is since the room is already in the conditioned attic, it won't take much to heat or cool it, so you might go electric heat just in the bonus room.

Tommy Botello

Posted: Aug 15, 2014 11:48 AM

There isn't gas, it's all electric. Would there be any downside to just spray foaming the attic side of the drywall, thus encapsulating just the living space and leaving the attic vented?

Mark Mouton

Posted: Aug 15, 2014 06:08 PM

I'm trying to understand, In your first comment, you said you are encapsulating the attic. Does that mean you are sprayfoaming the roofline and attic walls above the living area making it an unvented or (conditioned) attic? And the bonus room falls into this attic area?
Also, I don't think carbon monoxide comes into play with an electric furnace.

Tommy Botello

Posted: Aug 15, 2014 07:32 PM

Sorry, I was trying to explain it the best I could. Yes, there's a bonus room above the garage and master bedroom that was determined to need it's own unit. On the other side of the finished walls (in the attic) is where the upstairs unit will sit. I didn't think it would be a problem either, being electric, but I saw a warning sticking on the side of the unit stating the risk of carbon monoxide which only led me to question encapsulating the whole attic. And yes, I intend on sealing the entire attic, making it conditioned. So, you feel it would be okay? Thank you.

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