Air Intake To The Attic

The air passes through the filter of the unit and quickly passes over the supercooled coils inside.

Air intake to the attic.

Having your hvac system in your attic isn t dire though you ll need to do some work to keep your air conditioner or furnace system running as efficiently as possible. The indoor portion of your unit has an air conditioner return air intake usually located on the ceiling. Federal housing authority recommends a minimum of at least 1 square foot of attic ventilation evenly split between intake and exhaust for every 300 square feet of attic floor space. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape.

Proper attic ventilation consists of a balance between air intake at your eaves soffits or fascias and air exhaust at or near your roof ridge. Snow melts and the water refreezes on the cold eaves creating ice dams. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.

The first and possibly most important thing is to make a commitment to yourself to change your hvac filters regularly. Fresh air intakes are a key component the hvac system utilizes to maintain a safe and comfortable indoor environment in your home. Grab a flashlight and inspect your attic during the winter. We are going to discuss what a fresh air intake is and how a properly installed fresh air intake can increase your unit s efficiency performance and prolong the life of your furnace.

This return air intake grille typically includes some type of filter to keep dust and debris out while allowing air to pass through. See figure 2. When using any type of powered ventilation product for an attic application all passive attic vents will become sources for air intake. Unlike passive ventilation where air flow must travel from the lowest point in the attic to the highest powered ventilation uses air intake from all areas of the attic both high and low.

According to the national roofing contractors association nrca a power vent with an airflow rate of 1 0 cubic foot per minute per square foot of attic space measured at the attic floor is generally considered to be equivalent to a 1 150 ventilation ratio. Similar to the static method adequate amounts of intake air into the attic space should be provided. We will also cover how fresh air intakes play a vital role in determining your. Ventilation manufacturers assign an nfa value to the non motorized vents they make.

Attic square footage 2 square inches of exhaust and square inches of intake net free area nfa needed.