Insulation Around Attic Furnace

Fiberglass insulation cannot just butt up to the vent pipe touching it.

Insulation around attic furnace.

This puts the furnace in at least semi conditioned space. Most often the attic is sealed by installing spray foam insulation at the roofline thus bringing the attic inside the building enclosure and turning it into conditioned space directly or indirectly. Insulation isn t only about keeping heat in. In the average home around 20 to 30 of the heated or cooled air flowing through the ducts is lost to leaks and uninsulated surfaces according to the department of energy.

Most of the issues that furnace might experience in an attic are due to extremely cold weather in this poorly insulated space. Wrap the flashing around the flue and staple it to the flashing inside the ceiling joists through the notches on the bottom edge. Spun fiberglass insulation is like a sponge as far as its ability to collect and hold significant volume of water. It also keeps the heat out of the home or duct.

The b vent system requires air space clearance as well as clearance from combustibles. If you re really concerned you can also build a small insulated room around your unit to prevent heating and cooling loss. Once you ve decided which type is best for you examine the material options and prices to home in on the right product. Loose fill or batt the common term for blanket insulation.

For diy attic insulation you ve got two choices. You need insulation even around your ducts no matter where you live. If the furnace is a fuel burning one be sure you provide air for combustion. Heating cooling a while back i wrote about the incompatibility of putting an atmospheric combustion furnace in a sealed attic.

A furnace can suffer from a drop in energy efficiency if it s in an unconditioned space such as an attic. In either cse it fills the required open air space around the b vent in the un conditioned attic space. High efficiency furnaces aren t usually recommended for an attic. Although fiberglass may not burn it can melt contribute to a fire and the speed at which it spreads.

Both can be added to uninsulated attics or layered over existing material. Insulating around a furnace exhaust pipe now that you have safely sealed the air leaks around the furnace exhaust you can work on insulating your attic space.