Where should outdoor coils not be located?
Where should outdoor coils not be located?
Expert
Maestro
Watch for outdoor units -
- with restricted intake or discharge air flow
- within 6 feet of a clothes dryer, water heater vent or high efficiency furnace vent
- under the drip line of the roof
- below snow drift depth or with no provision for condensate to drain away freely Some say the best location for a heat pump outside is on the east side of the house, but practical issues are probably more important. We added furnace discharge vents to the list here. These vents are not an issue for air conditioning systems because the air conditioner and furnace would never operate at the same time. It can be an issue with heat pumps because heat pumps and furnaces may operate at the same time. The moisture in the furnace exhaust may ice up the heat pump coil quickly.
Where snow tends to accumulate, the heat pump should be on a frame or stand several inches above the ground. This helps to prevent snow from blocking the air movement across the coil. There should be 1 to 3 feet of clearance for the intake and 4 to 6 feet for the discharge side. Inefficient operation, decreased comfort and increased costs will result if the outdoor coil is not well located.
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