Our HVAC system (furnace and AC) sits in our garage. We are zone 4A (Virginia). It gets quite hot & humid in the summer.

I’ve heard the HVAC system should be in a condition space. Also, there are significant gaps where the duct work (both supply & return) enter the house from the garage and I’m looking to seal those up. I had an idea — instead of trying to seal up every gap (which would be difficult because it’s a tight area), is it safe if I framed in the HVAC system and insulated it, creating its own little space?

Obviously I’d have to create a panel that you can take off to access the front of the whole system, and possibly make it easy to dismantle parts of it so it can be worked on. The main thing I’m concerned about is fiberglass insulation being close to electrical wiring when it should be (fire hazard).