The gas water heater must get enough fresh air for the proper gas combustion and provide unobstructed and efficient drafting of the products of gas combustion.
Attic installation of tankless water heater.
So a drain pan is definitely required for attic installation.
A tankless obviously does not have a storage tank but it does have pipe connections that can leak as the unit reaches the end of it serviceable lifespan.
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.
Outdoor rated tankless water heaters are installed on an exterior wall in a relatively warm climate.
As long as your tankless water heater has enough combustion air it can be installed in a utility room garage basement attic or placed on an outside wall.
Whether or not you can install a tankless water heater in your attic depends on your attic.
The local building codes must allow you to install the water heater in the attic.
Your attic can easily reach temperatures of 120 140 degrees which is optimum for keeping the water in your tank sufficiently hot without using any energy.
The main reasons why one should be cautious when installing a gas water heater in the attic is because of inadequate attic ventilation with little or no traffic and high or low freezing temperatures.
Another option is to choose a tankless water heaterto be installed in your attic.
Even if the attic is an excellent place to install the tankless water heater you should be aware of some possible problems.
For instance the attic has to be very well made and able to handle the weight of the water heater.
Now a secondary line of reasoning for placing a water heater in the attic is the high temperatures that occur in an attic particularly during the summer months.
It can also be installed in a location where a tank based water heater may not fit such as a bedroom or bathroom.
The digital temperature controller can be mounted in any room.
This is far less expensive than your water heater leaking and causing thousands of dollars worth of water damage.
If you install such a water heater in a vented attic in indianapolis you don t have to worry much about the water heater unit freezing.
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.