On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:23:40 -0400, "Pete D"
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.