Air Conditioning for Manufactured Homes
Buying a manufactured home is a way to keep housing costs down, especially in a high cost-of-living area. As you will find out, a lot of things are not quite the same. Here’s what you need to know about the differences and similarities related to air conditioning for a manufactured home.
Dimensions for Indoor HVAC Systems
The biggest thing you need to understand about buying anything new for a manufactured home is sizing. There are a lot of equipment and fixtures that will fit just fine in a manufactured home as they would in a stick-built home. However, others may need to be designed specifically for a manufactured home in order for them to fit within the space allotted. For example, you may need to buy an air handler or furnace with very specific dimensions so that it will fit in the cabinet space inside your manufactured home. Consult your Sacramento HVAC specialist for information about models that are ideal for manufactured homes.
Sizing for HVAC Equipment
Dimensions are not the only part of sizing HVAC equipment properly for a manufactured home. Purchasing the correct size in an air conditioner or furnace is extremely important for the function of the HVAC system. If the air conditioner is too large, it will cool the space too quickly, and fail to run long enough to remove an adequate amount of humidity. If the unit is too small for the space, it will be overtaxed, running too often and too long. This could lead to ineffective cooling and premature wear on the system components.
Understanding the Ductwork
In order to install a forced-air heating system or central air conditioning, you must have ductwork installed in the manufactured home. This is an instance where having a crawlspace may actually be to your benefit, since that is a likely location for the ductwork. In a double-wide manufactured home, there may be effectively two lines of ductwork that are connected in the center. Ask your Sacramento heating and air expert about the limitations on installing ductwork in your particular home.
Community Rules
If you live in a community of manufactured homes, you should consider limitations on upgrades that are visible outside your home. Central air conditioning requires the installation of an exterior unit often referred to as a condenser. Consult the rules for your community to determine if there are guidelines concerning the placement of this exterior unit. The rules may require you to install it in a place that is not visible from the street, and place other limitations on the way that you maintain the system.
Keeping your manufactured home cool throughout the summer requires some additional thought. The dimensions of the equipment you need to use may be different for a manufactured home, but the sizing of the appliances should always be appropriate for the space. To learn more about HVAC systems for your manufactured home, contact us at Ace Plumbing.