Hot Water Heaters In Attics

City code mandates that any water heater in an attic must have a pan underneath it to catch water in the event of a leak.

Hot water heaters in attics.

They could even be directly attached to the undersurface of the roof or elevated near the roof for maximum heat transfer. The pan must be piped out to the exterior of the house. Another reason why installing a gas water heater in the attic is not a good idea is if the tank or any connection leaks. If the builder has already installed your water heater in the attic you can get it moved to another location in the house or into the garage.

This is far less expensive than your water heater leaking and causing thousands of dollars worth of water damage. Every major manufacturer of tankless water heaters specifies that a catch pan and drain piping be installed under the unit if leakage would cause damage to the immediate area and that is certainly the case when one is installed in an attic. N some areas of the country water heaters both gas and electric are installed in attic spaces. Simply put as long as there is enough combustion air provided tankless water heaters can be installed in any area of your home from a utility room to a garage to yes even an old dusty attic.

During the winter time a water heater and piping in the attic space should be insulated to protect against freezing temperatures. 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. Attics containing a water heater shall be provided with an opening and unobstructed passageway large enough to allow removal of the water heater the passageway shall be not less than 30 inches 762 mm in height and 22 inches 559 mm in width and not more than 20 feet 6096 mm in length when measured along the centerline of the passageway from the opening to the water heater. 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.

These are meant to contain hot water and only release water when the temperature of the cap is exceeded. Whether or not you can install a tankless water heater in your attic depends on your attic. However the pans are only about two inches deep and just big enough around to fit a water heater. As with all gas water heater installations it is very important to have sufficient combustion and dilution air to insure proper drafting of the exhaust products and safe water heater operation.

Another option is to choose a tankless water heaterto be installed in your attic. Many times a check valve is installed in line with the pan.