Attic Hot Water Heaters

Traditional water heaters feature a tank of stored water that is fueled by gas or electric power.

Attic hot water heaters.

It s almost always safe to place the tankless water heater in the attic. Turn excess attic heat into hotwater. Since the vent does not rely on the buoyancy of hot air it can be run horizontally to the outside of the house. Truth be told the attic may be the best place to hide your tankless water heater.

Water heaters with power venting come with an electric blower fan often very quiet installed on top of the water heater and can have either vertical or horizontal vent ducts. It s problematic to have a water heater in your attic because leaks can damage your attic and foster an environment for mold. It may be more costly to replace. Attics are known to be dusty and dust is a water heaters enemy.

Are you going to remember to check it before something happens and it starts a fire or leaks. Maintenance should be done yearly and is more difficult because going into the attic is cumbersome. If the water heater is in the attic the saying out of sight out of mind comes into play. Giant tanks of water happen to take up a lot of square footage and primarily for that reason many builders have opted to place water heaters in the attic of new homes.

A water heater in the attic saves square footage tank type water heaters are big hulking cylinders filled with anywhere from forty to seventy gallons of hot water. Adjusting the temperature is harder. The water for my hotwater heater has to pass through it and pick. Attics are normally unheated this means the water heater will have to work harder in the winter.

These units are a lower upfront investment than tankless water heaters but operation and maintenance costs are typically higher. When installing the water heater in the attic you no longer need to worry about the aesthetics they don t look beautiful. In addition to all the regular code requirements for a water heater when the water heater is installed in an attic you must first have an attic access hatch that is a minimum of 24 x36 and even more for larger water heaters. Remember the water heater must fit through the hatch to permit future change outs.