Framing a basement with perimeter drainage system

If you do move the hvac to your basement just be aware of the furnace venting requirements, and you will also have to redo all the ducting.

 

It doesn't care. I live in Oklahoma and summers can be brutal here, and virtually everyone's ac unit is outdoors, and it makes no difference to the unit even if its setting in direct sunlight on a 108 degree day or in 140 degree attic. It needs airflow, and lots of it....thats it. As mentioned earlier, an attic fan will make a noticeable difference on your electric bill.

 

Oh yeah, I realize that.

 

Yep, I'm definitely aware. Thankfully I've got a friend or two who have worked in the HVAC industry for 20 years or so and can backstop what I'm being told by the local HVAC companies - e.g., when I get a quote (whenever that happens) I'll run it by said friend to get a 'second opinion' and make sure no wool is being pulled over my eyes.

 

We used to put air handlers up in the attics all the time in San Diego (el Cajon, santee) where it gets much hotter than here in VA. The equipment doesn’t care where it is, the only things in that box are a coil, blower/motor, and strip heaters (like the inside of a hair dryer). It’s fine up there, unless you want to redo the ductwork.
In Yuma, my house has 2 gas furnaces, both are in the attic. It’s much warmer there.
As far as venting goes, you don’t need to worry about that, heat pump vs gas furnace.
If it’s gone through several compressors in a short period that sounds like bad repairs.
An attic fan will definitely help with heat in the attic, but if your ceiling is insulated well it’s not that big a deal. It doesn’t get that hot here.
I would talk to a couple different contractors. There are a lot of contractors that would love for you to relocate it to the basement, $$$$

 

LOL! Oh yeah, I'm sure. Honestly, I realize that I can leave it where it is....but with that said, either the unit is not that reliable, or bad repairs, or other factors, and I do think the unit itself is part of it. I owned a Carrier at my last location, and believe me when I say that for probably 8 years we didn't have the best techs...but we only ever had to replace 2 relays and 2 capacitors.

Given that, given the cost of repairs, and given that I do plan on finishing at least part of the basement, and would want it 'conditioned' as well, it'll cost the same amount to relocate to the basement in the future as it would to insulate the basement, continue to repair the one I have, install a new one to handle just the basement, etc.

With all of that said...it's not imminent. Given the cost of a new unit, I plan on putting aside the $ for the next year or two so I can essentially pay it in full; so I have time to plan/research/ask questions.

 

Yeah, I plan on having one installed within the next few months. We used to have a 'whole house fan' (or, as I like to call it, 'world's biggest fart fan') in our old house, but had honestly never thought about an attic vent fan until a few days ago. Now that I know about them and the wisdom behind them, I absolutely plan on having one installed.

 

Would a dehumidifier help? How dry is the basement?
I'm in NC, so maybe similar conditions. My crawlspace was very damp before I did all my work. Part of what I did was add a dehumidifier dumping into the French drain. With everything else I did same time, can't say how much that by itself helped with temps, but it did. In my mind, higher humidity makes hot muggy, and cold 'soak to the bones'.
A few hundred dollars for a dehumidifier wouldn't be a 'cheap experiment', but vs. relocating your entire HVAC, including new vents and ductwork, it would.

And, even if you relocate the HVAC, the dehumidifier might still add to the comfort finished out.

 

So, almost 3 months ago we had a local insulation company out to take a look @ our insulation in the attic.

Turns out we had a bit more going on. Not only did we not have sufficient insulation, there were parts of our attic that had work done in the past and had *NO* insulation. Additionally, there were two ducts that had big fat ass cracks in them.

As a stop gap the company taped the living sh*t out of those and made sure they leaked no air...and then gave us a ton of insulation. They'd advertised upgrading us to R-48 or something, but then essentially said "Eh...I don't want to bring this back to the truck" and just upgraded us to R-56. LOL

COMPLETELY changed the feel of the house, the runtime of the system, etc. In one month we saw something like a $40 reduction in our bill.

I still plan on insulating at least the aboveground portion of the basement walls, and the rim joists, etc., but it's obvious the major issue was with the insulation level of the attic. I also plan on having the compromised ductwork replaced soon.