Living in a mobile home can offer several advantages, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges. For example, you might love the convenience of having a house that you can take with you wherever you go, but perhaps you’ve struggled with how to regulate the temperature inside it in the past. Don’t worry though; there are plenty of heat and air units for mobile homes available. You just have to know how to look for them, and which kinds will offer you the most value when you’re trying to stay cool throughout the year’s hottest months. Fortunately, our experienced team has put together a guide that can help you. Keep reading to learn more about which units will be compatible with your mobile home, and to discover specific criteria you can use to help you make an informed choice about which one to buy.
- Compatibility Matters When Choosing Heat and Air Units for Mobile Homes
One of the most important things to understand about heat and air units for mobile homes is that they will affect each other’s performance. Whichever kind you have installed first will in a certain sense dictate the type of unit you install next. That said, it becomes necessary to look at each kind of furnace and air conditioner you can use in your mobile home to see which ones are compatible with each other. Doing so will help you choose the best kind of system for your current mobile home and climate control infrastructure.
- Self-Contained Furnaces and Package Air Conditioners
The first heat and air units we’ll discuss are self-contained heaters and air conditioners. These can be purchased separately or packaged within a single unit. They essentially allow you to heat or cool a space without ductwork or the closet space required for a central system. A package heater or air conditioner sits outside the house, attached to either the roof or an outer wall. Their ability to function from outside makes them popular with numerous mobile home owners, for whom conservation of physical space is a top priority. However, package air conditioners and heaters can be unattractive features that make your home less appealing from the curb. You trade outer beauty for more space on the inside of your mobile home.
- Mini Split Heat Pumps
Mini split system heat pumps are also called ductless systems, and they are popular with mobile homeowners who do not have existing ductwork. Instead of using ducts, a mini-split system uses several small wall-mounted units in each room that needs cooling or heating. Each unit is only a few inches deep, which allows it to be placed on the wall with minimum disruption of space. They are also conveniently quiet, which means that they won’t cause large distractions when they are activated. However, the costs of each unit add up when you are trying to heat and cool an entire mobile home (on a related note, the same problems hold true for window air conditioners, which can cool one room efficiently but not an entire home). Mini-split heat pumps may be your best choice if you live in a mobile home that has no preexisting ducts, but in almost all other cases there are more efficient options.
- Central Heating and Air Conditioning Systems
Some people assume that central heating and air conditioning systems are impossible or impractical to use in mobile homes, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, an HVAC is likely to be one of the most convenient and cost-effective long-term heating and cooling systems you can put in your mobile home—provided it is cared for adequately. HVAC systems provide more consumer choice than most other kinds of heating and cooling systems because there are simply more brands available. Furthermore, these brands have a broad range of varying energy efficiency levels, which means that it’s possible to find options that will save you considerable amounts of money over prolonged periods of use.
Central heating and air conditioning systems are excellent choices for mobile homes that have ductwork or enough room for easy installation. Just ensure that your HVAC installer is a licensed professional who can provide high-quality service on your system at least once or twice a year. A service contract can be an excellent way to make sure that you do not neglect your system. Service contracts engage your chosen contractor in visiting you at predetermined times and checking to make sure your system is working properly.
- Choosing the System That Works for You
Different people will have different heating and cooling needs, so ultimately, you’ll have to decide which heat and air units for mobile homes serve your purposes best. If your space is small and you need to use it as efficiently as possible, you might be all right with a packaged system. If you can afford the cost of multiple units, consider a mini split. Otherwise, a central system will probably work wonders for you, if you choose the right technicians to install and service it.
Valley Comfort provide heating system installation and repair services in the following communities: Santa Rosa, Napa, Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, St Helena, Calistoga and Windsor