The only "Legitimate" use case I can think of is this:
If the condenser is part of a heat pump system, and it's winter, they MIGHT be trying to harvest or recirculate the heat that was "lost" into the attic back into the house... even then, that's a real corner case, and it would imply that they have a second condenser outside (and probably a very complicated piping system).
Do I think that's likely? No. Is it a "possible" reason for it to exist? Maybe.
Do you think a bit of Sun could warm up an uninsulated attic, the problem is they produce cold air while they heat so you would cool the attic even more and that would it make more inefficient and you would need to heat more beacuse you attic gets even colder
Roofs can be tremendous solar collectors. It would all depend on the volume of air and the temperatures involved. There actually are attic heat-pump solutions for pool heating. It's a win-win as it heats the pool and at the same time the heat scavenging reduces the heat-load for the house.
I thought the same thing at first. But it's still a, more or less, finite air volume. And if a small layer of snow sits on the roof, that solar energy won't heat the air in there at all.
I'm no houseologist, but to my humble understanding a fully furnished attic space in some climates is a huge engineering problem that has to manage heating, cooling, moisture, ventilation, ice dams, etc. Then you gotta add drywall, flooring, a real set of stairs... all for a big long room.
You're quadrupling the cost of the top of a house for an area that's a third floor walklup, probably without any plumbing.
Like sure, eventually it gets done in a lot of places eventually for a flex, or to hide your emo son/ crazy renissance wife, but it's really not worth it unless you want to squeeze in an extra two bedrooms.
the old temperature gradient with sofit vents where you put the christmas stuff schema is still pretty standard for a reason.
Well, that is the compressor and condenser. Its job is to take the absorbed heat from inside your house to the outside. If the coils are dirty, covered, or in a hot environment, it will dramatically reduce the efficiency and destroy the unit. Its operation range is about 65 to 105 degrees. It's not going to cool a home very well in an attic, as they are generally 120+ and can be over 160 regularly in the summer. So the more you need it, the worse it will work, in an attic.
I was thinking maybe there is something about humidity I don’t understand. I don’t know anything about these units. But this is the first time I’ve seen one in an attic... and I know that is very odd.
Since no one answered you about humidity: only thing humidity is going to do to your aircon is cause it to 'freeze up', which is literally a buildup of condensate on the heat exchanger coils. As long as you set it to cycle (or manually shut it off if it's a dumb box like mine!) it allows the coils to warm back up and thaw off the ice they'll accumulate.
The "outside" part of an AC has to dump the heat of your house into the air. If you put it in an attic it just heats up that attic air until it overheats and stops works. Also the heat pumped into the attic radiates through the ceiling and just works it's way back into the house. Whoever installed this was not a professional.
It's just a dumb set up, done all sorts of reasons except the basic idea of moving heat away from the building. This placement moves the heat to the attic rather than outside.
Place I work, there's a unit inside the building, in a back hallway. I guess so long as someone says there's enough space and airflow, they'll install inside buildings, too?
Than you should Report it because that can be very dangerous it isnt about the energy they waste its about the gas that is inside the ac Unite if it leaks outside it wont build up and cant cause a Explosion not like inside and the one who installed it like this could be charged as well if something happen
no. any HVAC technician will place it outside. even a shady technician will try to charge you extra to place it outside where it has to be anyway. condensers have a giant fan etc. that suck in air and expel heat. there is never enough airflow inside a building. Commercial location have them placed on the roof since its flat or at a specific location outside.
Looks to me like this is one of two units in that attic. In the background looks to be one of the rectangle ones. The tower one just stands out due to the... creative... mounting.
Also; this got me to do some digging. Apparently this is a 'common' low budget way to get AC in to historic builds that otherwise have very strict rules re: changes to the outside of the building. There are purpose built units for this but they are considerably more expensive; though this murders unit efficiency and likely costs more in power in the long run. Most found examples were in Europe but the TikTok is for a company in IL - so the more things are different the more they are the same.
Ok, but then why wouldn't you attach a sheet metal duct from the fan on top of the unit out the nearby window, changing said window to a grating that still looks like a normal window. Then it at least is blowing the hot air outside, but the goal of preserving the outside appearance is met.
From what I read these units are built on the assumption of open access to the air so they generate very little static pressure - meaning ducting them would make their efficiency even worse.
A very short duct of generous size with long sweeping curves wouldn't make a ton of static pressure. Just getting the hot exhaust out of the attic so it isn't recirculating that heat would give a much greater efficiency gain than the flow penalty of the duct would cost.
Yes They may require you to place a facade/fence around them or replace noisy ones but state laws as well as ADA laws put hoas in their place. again they cannot stop you from installing an HVAC system with exterior condenser, only to block it from sight.
Why not take a unit that circulates the hot air from inside and blows it outside and instead blow that hot air directly into the attic to be circulated through the house again?
I missed a tiny bit at the start there seem to be other AC units in this area. I am starting to think this is just a decorative facade on the top of a multi family residential so they have all the units up there. that makes more sense.
That doesn't make it any better as they are useless without airflow, so you are just heating the attic, making it harder to cool down the rest of the building
There are places in the US where homes dont have basements because it's too expensive to dig through whatever hard-ass rocks are in the ground. So they put the furnace in the attic, maybe the owners didn't want a compressor outside cuz it's ugly.
Yeah, but you want to have the AC’s waste heat discharged OUTSIDE the house, not inside. If it sends both the cool air and the hot air into the house, you’re just heating the house (because Maxwell).
Its not as efficient as being outside and im sure SOME heat transfer inside, however the bigger issue is that the attic space is already hot, so the AC is not going to be wasting a lot of electricity not being able to cool as well.
It’s wildly inefficient, to the point of being useless. The AC unit needs to be vented DIRECTLY to the outside using ductwork to prevent the hot air it produces from getting into the people space.
The Roof is uninsulated, the Floor/Ceiling is Insulated and the Windows are open. It makes sense if you have not much Gardenspace to putt it next to the house. The Decoupling Method is... intresting. With my AC i had similar problems and opted out of the normal placement as it would have rendered the Terrace, i use for BBQ, unuseable. As only the Upper Floor has AC the Condensor Unit now sits ON the Roof. With very low Noise to the Terrace. Attic was not well ventilated enough.
ON the roof is a much better placement than IN it. On a roof is a normal placement location for taller buildings (less common for single family residences). It's still outside, which is pretty important with A/C units.
They more or less transfer heat from inside to the outside, so having it inside your house, even in the attic, isn't advised because you're simultaneously heating and cooling your indoors.
if you look at around the 16s mark you can see other smaller tonnage units I think this is a multifamily residential and this is just decorative not a true attic space. weird cuz that looks like insulation but i no longer think any evaporator coil is in this area I now think that is in the AC closet in the units themselves along with the water heater.
Even if that's true, it's still a major fuck up. there's simply no way enough air flow can cycle through this space to properly cool those condensers (especially with multiple present needing to be cooled), and heat will still pass from the homes up into this space. Plywood still has an insulating effect, foam/fiberglass insulation under it or not.
One of my favorite warnings was the "CAUTION: FLAMMABLE" tag on a chimney-cleaning log. You know, the thing you set on fire and burn to clean stuff accumulated in the chimney.
And one that made me wince was on Q-Tips, and reads something like "Do not insert into any orifice other than the ear."
Let me just say, I hear you about Florida, but let me also just say as someone who has lived in a lot of different states, this is not unique to Florida.
Yeah this would be tame for Florida. There's a whole show on HBO called its Florida, man that people should watch if you want to see some actual Florida things
OkButWhyWereTheyFilming
Can't park that here mate
sacrosanctt
Today on "boy I wish my electric bill was more expensive with no benefit to me"
Calumet12
No one's stealing their condenser coils now.
CASchoeps
Oh, I know that one! That is a counterweight designed to protect your house from swaying and collapsing during an earthquake.
Geez, you are mean. Making fun of some guy just because you do not understand what you see...
Righteousdew
Fuck that TikTok music.
AK90
Fuck TikTok in general xD
possumattack
It's gonna get wicked hot in that attic.
makesense
The answer to your question is yes
kojenk
Oh my fkn god, the sheer number of things that could and WILL go wrong. Its just a matter of which one happens first.
Pfffftit
Gave it the double tug, it’s not going anywhere
Level21Magikarp
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1MTEzNjBjNHYxbzJ2bmFuMDNhM2h0bDV2cDFjbWQ5emxhYzVhZmNkZyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/k6Vbs4FyOEbZK/200w.webp
SquashDemon
Never think you've seen the dumbest thing ever, not only will you be wrong, but morons will go out of their way to make sure you see something dumber.
dghughes
Plus a window in an unconditioned attic?
beerkrump
Isn't that system designed to be level?
MoopsyLD
yes and to be outside.
HuCared
Probably the type of guy that opens his fridge to cool the room.
HuCared
Well at least he didn't use a steam engine to generate electricity.
Zwanderer
Even in Florida where it's humid as FUCK, the AC compressor is OUTSIDE.
redditmcredditface
that is Zero-sum AC right there. When you want electricity cost without any benefit.
Nuclearun
The only "Legitimate" use case I can think of is this:
If the condenser is part of a heat pump system, and it's winter, they MIGHT be trying to harvest or recirculate the heat that was "lost" into the attic back into the house... even then, that's a real corner case, and it would imply that they have a second condenser outside (and probably a very complicated piping system).
Do I think that's likely? No. Is it a "possible" reason for it to exist? Maybe.
Nuclearun
Also, just for shits and giggles: It's still not installed safely/correctly.
KilroyLichking
thats one way to warm up your house
ISpeekW00kie
Technically outside the thermal envelope, but yeah...
IfOnlyICouldUseMyPowersForGood
while at the same time trying to cool it
NotAllowedToArgueUnlessYouPay
Could that maybe make some sense if it's being used as heat-pump to mainly warm a space? Take some advantage of solar heating of the attic?
Grinch01
Do you think a bit of Sun could warm up an uninsulated attic, the problem is they produce cold air while they heat so you would cool the attic even more and that would it make more inefficient and you would need to heat more beacuse you attic gets even colder
NotAllowedToArgueUnlessYouPay
Roofs can be tremendous solar collectors. It would all depend on the volume of air and the temperatures involved. There actually are attic heat-pump solutions for pool heating. It's a win-win as it heats the pool and at the same time the heat scavenging reduces the heat-load for the house.
KruenchyPetzo
I thought the same thing at first. But it's still a, more or less, finite air volume. And if a small layer of snow sits on the roof, that solar energy won't heat the air in there at all.
NotAllowedToArgueUnlessYouPay
Pool heater?
scootwhoman
The neighbors complained about the noise, so the owners thought up this.
glovelyday
At least they opened the window...
ButtscratchMcPherson
I also see two of the outdoor parts of a split system further down the attic?
LurkingSarcasm
What a waste of space up there holy shit
JCDenton10
Think of all the mad women that could fit in that attic
astrangehop
I'm no houseologist, but to my humble understanding a fully furnished attic space in some climates is a huge engineering problem that has to manage heating, cooling, moisture, ventilation, ice dams, etc. Then you gotta add drywall, flooring, a real set of stairs... all for a big long room.
You're quadrupling the cost of the top of a house for an area that's a third floor walklup, probably without any plumbing.
astrangehop
Like sure, eventually it gets done in a lot of places eventually for a flex, or to hide your emo son/ crazy renissance wife, but it's really not worth it unless you want to squeeze in an extra two bedrooms.
the old temperature gradient with sofit vents where you put the christmas stuff schema is still pretty standard for a reason.
ButtscratchMcPherson
Yeah you could fit in another half dozen ACs easy.
Frozenspokes
Looks like my attic in Oklahoma. They build the houses with steep roofs here. I think it might have to do with the wind and hail we get.
CommunCreator
Bet *your* indoor AC unit has ductwork directing the waste heat outside. If not, you should fix that.
Frozenspokes
Oh. My condenser is outside where it belongs. The ductwork and blower are up there though.
Fanner50
Plenty of water heaters in the attic…deal with them later.
WolvesAreTheBestPeople
Wait. What? Is there some genius logic I’m not understanding? Maybe the climate outside? But seriously...
HouseOfEvil
It's already hot up in the attic, so why not?
senseicombs
Well, that is the compressor and condenser. Its job is to take the absorbed heat from inside your house to the outside. If the coils are dirty, covered, or in a hot environment, it will dramatically reduce the efficiency and destroy the unit. Its operation range is about 65 to 105 degrees. It's not going to cool a home very well in an attic, as they are generally 120+ and can be over 160 regularly in the summer. So the more you need it, the worse it will work, in an attic.
MoopsyLD
condensers in attics can experience thermal overload
wargames
HOA will evict you if they can see the AC unit from any direction?
nik282000
You think a fully enclosed attic is gonna be cooler than outdoors?
WolvesAreTheBestPeople
I was thinking maybe there is something about humidity I don’t understand. I don’t know anything about these units. But this is the first time I’ve seen one in an attic... and I know that is very odd.
IHaveGreatKittenRecipes
Since no one answered you about humidity: only thing humidity is going to do to your aircon is cause it to 'freeze up', which is literally a buildup of condensate on the heat exchanger coils. As long as you set it to cycle (or manually shut it off if it's a dumb box like mine!) it allows the coils to warm back up and thaw off the ice they'll accumulate.
nik282000
The "outside" part of an AC has to dump the heat of your house into the air. If you put it in an attic it just heats up that attic air until it overheats and stops works. Also the heat pumped into the attic radiates through the ceiling and just works it's way back into the house. Whoever installed this was not a professional.
LifeIsSoUnfair
It's just a dumb set up, done all sorts of reasons except the basic idea of moving heat away from the building. This placement moves the heat to the attic rather than outside.
MoopsyLD
This is not up to code. the landlord or owner needs to be cited. Condenser units must go outside where there is infinite airflow.
PineappleLoopsBroether
Infinite airflow sounds like a upbeat band name. Oh yeah, Air Supply! I meant to listen to them like 18 years ago, I just now remembered.
AcaelusThorne
Infinite airflow is definitely a ska band waiting to happen
jammer909
Place I work, there's a unit inside the building, in a back hallway. I guess so long as someone says there's enough space and airflow, they'll install inside buildings, too?
Grinch01
Than you should Report it because that can be very dangerous it isnt about the energy they waste its about the gas that is inside the ac Unite if it leaks outside it wont build up and cant cause a Explosion not like inside and the one who installed it like this could be charged as well if something happen
MoopsyLD
no. any HVAC technician will place it outside. even a shady technician will try to charge you extra to place it outside where it has to be anyway. condensers have a giant fan etc. that suck in air and expel heat. there is never enough airflow inside a building. Commercial location have them placed on the roof since its flat or at a specific location outside.
Mezinov
Looks to me like this is one of two units in that attic. In the background looks to be one of the rectangle ones. The tower one just stands out due to the... creative... mounting.
Mezinov
Also; this got me to do some digging. Apparently this is a 'common' low budget way to get AC in to historic builds that otherwise have very strict rules re: changes to the outside of the building. There are purpose built units for this but they are considerably more expensive; though this murders unit efficiency and likely costs more in power in the long run. Most found examples were in Europe but the TikTok is for a company in IL - so the more things are different the more they are the same.
MoopsyLD
those exact same strict rules would never allow this setup.
OdinYggd
Ok, but then why wouldn't you attach a sheet metal duct from the fan on top of the unit out the nearby window, changing said window to a grating that still looks like a normal window. Then it at least is blowing the hot air outside, but the goal of preserving the outside appearance is met.
Mezinov
From what I read these units are built on the assumption of open access to the air so they generate very little static pressure - meaning ducting them would make their efficiency even worse.
OdinYggd
A very short duct of generous size with long sweeping curves wouldn't make a ton of static pressure. Just getting the hot exhaust out of the attic so it isn't recirculating that heat would give a much greater efficiency gain than the flow penalty of the duct would cost.
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
I'm sorry excuse me..... WHAT.... there are people that put their whole ass AC unit in the attic....
UngratefulColonial
I had the same question
wargames
HOA will evict you if they can see the AC unit from any direction?
MoopsyLD
no. its actually required to be placed outside homes.
BELFORD16
That doesn’t stop some HOAs from having arbitrary and completely stupid rules.
MoopsyLD
Yes They may require you to place a facade/fence around them or replace noisy ones but state laws as well as ADA laws put hoas in their place. again they cannot stop you from installing an HVAC system with exterior condenser, only to block it from sight.
notmyrealface
This sounds like hearsay. What proof do you have? Cause all I see is HOAs ruining the lives of people who can't afford to take them to court.
Smidge204
This isn't even the top 5 silliest things I've seen in my career. AT least it's a nice large attic and not, say, wedged above a drop ceiling
Grinch01
Bro thats not silly thats a hazard...
SpeakerToLampposts
"...wedged above a dro..."
......
I need to go look at kitten pictures now. Feel free to join me.
Howlingowl
Why not take a unit that circulates the hot air from inside and blows it outside and instead blow that hot air directly into the attic to be circulated through the house again?
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
I missed a tiny bit at the start there seem to be other AC units in this area. I am starting to think this is just a decorative facade on the top of a multi family residential so they have all the units up there. that makes more sense.
southflhitnrun
Yeah, the video is more about the installation NOT the location.
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
I think everyone is well aware of that fact considering it's hovering in mid air thanks to those straps.
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
it's easier to see around the 16s mark.
invaderjak
Yeah, there is no insulation under that roof
BarryTheCyborg
That doesn't make it any better as they are useless without airflow, so you are just heating the attic, making it harder to cool down the rest of the building
backrideup9
There are places in the US where homes dont have basements because it's too expensive to dig through whatever hard-ass rocks are in the ground. So they put the furnace in the attic, maybe the owners didn't want a compressor outside cuz it's ugly.
MoopsyLD
Hvac system and condenser unit are the two parts. HVAC inside and condenser outside. thems the rules.
CommunCreator
Yeah, but you want to have the AC’s waste heat discharged OUTSIDE the house, not inside. If it sends both the cool air and the hot air into the house, you’re just heating the house (because Maxwell).
LordHosk
this is in the attic with venting to the outside.
Its not as efficient as being outside and im sure SOME heat transfer inside, however the bigger issue is that the attic space is already hot, so the AC is not going to be wasting a lot of electricity not being able to cool as well.
CommunCreator
It’s wildly inefficient, to the point of being useless. The AC unit needs to be vented DIRECTLY to the outside using ductwork to prevent the hot air it produces from getting into the people space.
Elkarlo77
The Roof is uninsulated, the Floor/Ceiling is Insulated and the Windows are open. It makes sense if you have not much Gardenspace to putt it next to the house. The Decoupling Method is... intresting. With my AC i had similar problems and opted out of the normal placement as it would have rendered the Terrace, i use for BBQ, unuseable. As only the Upper Floor has AC the Condensor Unit now sits ON the Roof. With very low Noise to the Terrace. Attic was not well ventilated enough.
Akurei00
ON the roof is a much better placement than IN it. On a roof is a normal placement location for taller buildings (less common for single family residences). It's still outside, which is pretty important with A/C units.
They more or less transfer heat from inside to the outside, so having it inside your house, even in the attic, isn't advised because you're simultaneously heating and cooling your indoors.
LifeIsSoUnfair
Just the condenser and compressor. It's acoustically isolated.
Grinch01
If you look right before the end you can see the the other half of the Split unit behind it, because of the gas in it its illigal to put it up inside
LifeIsSoUnfair
It's a stupid set-up. People should be fired, but how do you fire your brother in law?
MoopsyLD
its not up to code and limits the ability of the AC to do its job.
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
I would assume the evaporator coil is up there too as that's normally where that is if they have an attic.
LifeIsSoUnfair
It's piped out in the insulated line.
ISayGoodSirCouldIHaveSomeGoodChemicals
if you look at around the 16s mark you can see other smaller tonnage units I think this is a multifamily residential and this is just decorative not a true attic space. weird cuz that looks like insulation but i no longer think any evaporator coil is in this area I now think that is in the AC closet in the units themselves along with the water heater.
thatlamer
Even if that's true, it's still a major fuck up. there's simply no way enough air flow can cycle through this space to properly cool those condensers (especially with multiple present needing to be cooled), and heat will still pass from the homes up into this space. Plywood still has an insulating effect, foam/fiberglass insulation under it or not.
WolvesAreTheBestPeople
This is why we get those weird tags on the things we buy that say, “Do Not Use Lawnmower on Top of House”.
“Do Not Install Outside AirCon Units in Attic”.
sneakolai
One of my favorite warnings was the "CAUTION: FLAMMABLE" tag on a chimney-cleaning log. You know, the thing you set on fire and burn to clean stuff accumulated in the chimney.
And one that made me wince was on Q-Tips, and reads something like "Do not insert into any orifice other than the ear."
scoutMoonDiver
I saw a package of votive candles with a warning to keep away from flame.
anegativecreep
I actually saw this in a chainsaw user manual.
“do not start saw with blade between legs”
ghostofGracchusBabeuf
Well that must have been a Darwin Award winner somewhere
stayingalive4life
Or someone who lost the ability to procreate. Well, at least they’re removed from the gene pool.
IHaveGreatKittenRecipes
Ours said 'do not attempt to stop saw with bodily surfaces' which sounds to me like a thrice-translated way to bum out the party, man.
Frodyne
Ooh, because somebody had to use both hands to pull the cord, and then they needed to hold the body down somehow.
I can see it happening but I don't like it... :(
There is a certain logic to it - if you ignore for a second that it is a freaking CHAINSAW!
itsokimaussie
Out of all the power tools I have ever used, chainsaws scare me the most.
Bobbobbobobbananafanafobob
Conair hair dryers at one point said not to use under water. Toasters don't.
EatAllTheBoudin
May I present to you, chainsaw on a rope
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpq1ze
BurningVeryImportantThings
I got confused and thought roof top unit meant it had a roof on it
imnotinthewitnessprotectionprogram
Florida, it’s a helluva drug
HarryDresdenIsMySpiritAnimal
Let me just say, I hear you about Florida, but let me also just say as someone who has lived in a lot of different states, this is not unique to Florida.
asm80dfa8sdfj
The thing about Florida isn't that what happens in Florida is unique, it's just that the concentration of people like "that" is much higher.
drhorseturd
Yeah this would be tame for Florida. There's a whole show on HBO called its Florida, man that people should watch if you want to see some actual Florida things
bambulina
Stupid lives everywhere, it's true.