Attic Furnace No Return Plenum

The sealed attic is great with return and supply duct inside of the thermal envelope of the building.

Attic furnace no return plenum.

Anyhow the return box and the other box that has the ducts coming out of it are made of sheet metal. My mother has had me going up into her attic to seal the leaky ducts and parts of the plenum air handler that join up to the furnace and coil units. I think a cmp cable cost twice a non rated cable so my guess is all your communication fire alarm and misc. I have a huge concern about fire safety.

Inspectors can learn how air leakage from ductwork may cause home energy loss increase utility bills lower comfort levels and make the hvac system less efficient. No return air plenum. The rating plate will state the max. When i was removing the trunk i found that they simply used a 14 elbow under the furnace not a proper plenum box.

Tesp is typically measured using a manometer and a dwyer 303 static pressure tip inserted into the return plenum just before the filter and in the supply hopefully before the coil then add the two numbers disregarding signs. A 14 trunk too small emerges from the foundation wall in the basement in a roughly 2 2 notch at the top of the foundation wall. Static pressure but it is usually 0 5 wci. Not to mention that the air handler itself is in its own plenum.

Everything would need to be plenum rated including the low voltage cabling. Ceiling space as a return air plenum. Building cavities used as return air plenums is one of the leading causes of duct leakage in homes today. You ll also need to provide a return path from a basement air handler or main level return to the second floor.

The major drawback is what material can go in your plenum. As noted by one previous poster all materials in the attic must be plenum rated. Reality returns should be ducted with a small supply and return connected to the attic space. If there is no return duct the concept is that the attic space becomes a return air plenum and this is not uncommon in commercial plenums.

If the space is conditioned it no longer is an attic and needs to be called conditioned space wiring within an area used as a plenum has to be in conduit. Otherwise this is a code violation. As long as there s an unobstructed path e g no door that can be closed the upstairs doesn t need a dedicated return. No radios or storage.

Cabling is not rated for plenum use. How can and attic be held to the same standard as a plenum when its used for storage and water heaters and such. If you have a door at the top or bottom of the stairs you can replace with a louvered door. The return air plenum was a room with doors and banks of filters.