How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
What is the difference between an upflow, downflow, and horizontal air handler or furnace?
Thursday, August 26, 2021
These designations refer to the direction that air flows through the air handler or furnace.
Upflow - Air comes in the bottom and goes out the top. This is the most common installation type in Florida.
Downflow - Air comes in at the top and goes out at bottom. Usually installed this way when supply ducts are under the floor.
Horizontal - Unit is installed sideways and air comes in on one side and goes out the other. This is the typical installation when unit is in an attic (shown above) or crawl space. Also see our blog post Should I move my air conditioner into the attic?
Some air handlers and furnaces are designed so that they can be installed in more than one air flow configuration. Others can only be installed one way.
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To learn more about heating and air conditioning systems, see these other blog posts:
• When is an auxiliary drain pan required under an air conditioner indoor unit air handler?
• How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner?
• My air conditioner won't turn on. What's wrong?
• How can I find out the size of my air conditioner?
• How can I tell whether the condenser (outdoor unit) is an air conditioner or heat pump?
• Where is the air filter for my central air conditioner and furnace? I can’t find it?
• Does an old air conditioner use more electricity as it ages?
• How did homes stay cool in Florida before air conditioning?
• What is wrong with an air conditioner when the air flow out of the vents is low?
• Why has the thermostat screen gone blank?
• Why does it take so long to cool a house when an air conditioner has been off for a while?
• Why is my air conditioner not cooling enough?
• What are the most common problems with wall/window air conditioners?
• Will closing doors reduce my heating and cooling costs?
Visit our HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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