[pablito]

Hi :

Our heat pump is under a screened porch (see first image). It is a York YZE03611D. I would like to make use of the space under the raised deck for storage and would appreciate professional thoughts on whether what I have in mind will allow for sufficient airflow to the HP unit.

The second image is a top view plan of what I currently have in mind. A few points to clarify:

• Blue lines are the house and garage foundation and walls
• Dark green lines outline the current screened porch and deck (current outer most beams/joists)
• Light green area is the proposed fully enclosed storage area
• Orange lines are proposed lattice panels

In the third image, I've tried to show the rough outline of where the new panels would go. To be conservative, the panels for the enclosure under the deck (green) would most likely be solid and block airflow. The lattice panels (orange) would likely be exactly these sheets with large holes (though framed with 2x4's or similar for support).

In the floor plan, you'll note that I left an open space in the bottom left corner to allow for extra airflow. As shown, it would be closed with a lattice panel (roughly 18" x 8'6"). Do you feel this is warranted or am I only adding complexity for nothing?

Also, in order to achieve the 18" clearance between the HP and the nearest storage area panel (recommended in the unit's installation manual), I would have to hang it away from the existing beam (dark green line). Attaching the panel to the beam would be simpler, but would reduce the clearance by 4". Is that 4" really worth the trouble? In case anyone is wondering, the clearance above the unit is 33".

I understand that it isn't an exact science, but I would appreciate a little professional feedback. If it where you, how would you proceed? Or wouldn't you?

Many thanks!
Paul

 

[pablito]

Thank you all for the feedback.

Given that your comments relate mainly to the clearance above the unit, I must ask : What about fitted snow shields I frequently see on these units? We are in eastern Canada so heavy snowfall is common. Given that the unit must be kept clear of snow for obvious reasons, the use of these shields in our area is not surprising. However, they do sit directly above with no more than a few inches of clearance. Granted, many appear to have a inverse cone to deflect airflow towards the sides, but still. Am I currently better or worse off than people with those shields installed? Given that we can be away for a week or during winter months, I can't always be outside cleaning it off when it snows so even if I were to move it, some type of protection above would be desirable wouldn't it?

Paul

 

[pablito]

Thanks again for the additional feedback and ideas. I should perhaps have mentioned that the wind typically blows from the top left to the bottom right of the floor plan as shown by the new light blue arrows in the image below. With the large open areas on both sides of the condenser (as it is now), I expect this has helped mitigate the re-circulation issue. Nevertheless, I have taken the feedback on board and will be looking to take some type of corrective action, especially if I go ahead with the storage under the deck.

If I may, I'll recap some of your ideas and solicit a little more feedback. I've come away with 2 options for the location of the unit as shown in the updated plan. Please note that in both cases, I've removed the 18"x8'6" lattice panel and opening I had previously included towards the bottom left of the image deck area. I've also added a little more detail to address any confusion. Specifically, my intention was to enclose the area below the deck for storage (area in light green). The area below the porch (where the unit is now) is not suitable for storage given the incline of dirt.

The first option is to leave the unit where it is, but to do "something" to direct the exhaust out from under the porch (through the new proposed lattice to the right of the plan). A few questions here:

1. Would the large air duct suggested by PHM require a fan to help move the exhaust or is the distance/length not significant enough? The distance between the unit the and lattice is 58".
2. I like dan's fan idea, but would this create some type of a negative pressure issue? I am thinking not. As air is pushed out of the enclosed space, the lattice would surely allow it to be easily replaced with fresh air at ambient temperature right? Should I be concerned with anything else? The trickier issue might be a suitable control mechanism.

Though I can see the grate idea working in some applications (e.g. a landing as I read in a post elsewhere), I think it will only increase the noise and warm up the porch during the summer months. Best to avoid it in this case. I don't think my wife would forgive me.

The second option is to move it out from under the porch and deck towards the end of the deck (top of the image). Given that I plan to close off the area under the deck, the unit would be located 18" away from it and I would install a snow shield on top of it. I only have one question. If I go this route, I will be tempted to hide the unit behind lattice panels on all sides. Can I do this so long as I leave the minimum 18" all around per York's installation manual. The panels could be removed for maintenance and would be no higher than the unit itself (I guess the shield would pop out from the top).

Thanks again,
Paul

 

[pablito]

Another option would be the corner at the lower right of the deck... over where your drawing says: 28.00"... keeping the 18-24" on each side from any walls.Placing it here... would put it out of the wind in the winter... thus a little better HP performance... and possibly a little less snow load.

I had considered that location, but thought that being open to the wind was preferable. Thanks for setting me straight. Out of curiosity, why is that? I am happy to read something if it is out there.

The other reason was to keep it out of the way from that side of the house. Though not obvious from the images, there is 12' from the garage/porch walls to the property line so I wanted to keep the area clear for access should we need to do any work with any soft of equipment in the back yard. Tucked in that corner might not be so bad. I'll reconsider... it also shortens the line length needed. By the way, will the line need to be replaced the entire run to the indoor coil or is it common practice to simply solder to the end to add the extra length?