THE HVAC GUIDE TO MOBILE HOME HEATING

Mobile homes, also known as manufactured homes, have unique heating needs due to their construction and smaller size. This blog post will discuss the various options for heating a mobile home, including traditional and alternative methods.

Furnaces and heat pumps are the most popular forms of heating for mobile homes. However, other options like wood stoves, fireplaces, and space heaters are available. As far as fuels go, electricity, gas, and heating oil are the most common types used to power mobile home heating systems – let’s take a look at those!

Forced-air furnace:

A forced-air furnace is a popular choice for mobile home heating. It works by heating air and distributing it through ductwork to different rooms in the home. Forced-air furnaces can run on various fuels, including heating oil, natural gas, propane, and electricity. They are relatively efficient but can be noisy and may require regular maintenance.

Baseboard heaters:

Baseboard heaters are electric heaters installed along a room’s baseboards. They work by heating the air directly rather than heating it and then distributing it through ductwork. Baseboard heaters are quiet, easy to install, and require little maintenance. However, they can be less efficient than forced-air furnaces and may not heat a room as quickly.

Wall heaters:

Wall heaters are similar to baseboard heaters but are installed in the wall rather than along the baseboards. They are also electric and heat the air directly. Wall heaters are quiet, easy to install, and require little maintenance. However, they can be less efficient than forced-air furnaces and may not heat a room as quickly.

Boiler:

Boilers are a less common option for mobile home heating, but they can heat the home by circulating hot water through radiators or baseboard heaters. Boilers can run on various fuels, including natural gas, propane, and oil. They are generally more efficient than forced-air furnaces but can be more expensive to install and maintain.

Heat pumps:

Heat pumps are an alternative heating option used in mobile homes. They work by extracting heat from the air or ground outside and distributing it inside the house. Heat pumps are relatively efficient and can be used for heating and cooling. However, they can be expensive to install and may not work well in frigid climates.

Ductless mini-splits:

Ductless mini-splits are another heating option for mobile homes. They consist of an outdoor unit that is connected to one or more indoor units by a conduit. The outdoor unit contains a compressor, and the indoor units contain evaporators. Ductless mini-splits work by pumping refrigerant between the outdoor and indoor units, which absorbs and releases heat as it changes state. This heats the air inside the home without the need for ductwork. They are very efficient and can also be used for cooling.

Portable heaters:

Portable heaters are another option for mobile homes. They are easy to move around and can be used to heat a specific area or room. However, they can be less efficient and heat a room slower than other options.

Wood or pellet stove:

If your mobile home has a fireplace or wood stove, you can use wood or pellet fuel to heat your home.

How to Choose A Heating System for your Mobile Home

It’s essential to pick the right heating system that works for you and your budget. But remember to maintain and repair it regularly to ensure it stays in good working condition.

When shopping for heating and cooling sources for your mobile home, it’s crucial to ensure they’re designed and rated for that specific purpose. It would help if you also looked for labels like ‘HUD-Approved’ or ‘high static approved.

Heat pumps can be a good option for heating a mobile home, especially in mild climates. They are generally more energy efficient than other heating systems, as they use electricity to move heat rather than generate it. This can lead to lower energy bills than a furnace or electric heater.

Heat pumps can also provide heating and cooling, making them a versatile option for year-round comfort. However, they may be less effective at heating a home in frigid climates, as the efficiency of a heat pump decreases as the temperature outside drops.

When choosing a heat pump for your mobile home, the climate and your heating/cooling needs must be considered. To help decide which one is best, it might be worth talking to an HVAC expert.

If you live in a cold area and own a mobile home, furnaces are the way to go for heating. Forced air furnaces are the most popular type used in mobile homes. Furnaces are a great way to heat up your house as they heat air and pass it through a duct system. Plus, they’re reliable and can be fueled by natural gas, propane, or oil. They’re pretty efficient too!

However, choosing the right size furnace for your mobile home is essential to ensure it can effectively heat the space. A too-small furnace will be unable to keep up with demand and may struggle to maintain a comfortable temperature. At the same time, a too-large furnace will waste energy and may short cycle, causing it to turn on and off frequently.

It’s also essential to properly maintain and repair your furnace to ensure it works efficiently. This may include changing the air filter, cleaning the burners, and having the furnace inspected annually.

Overall, furnaces can be a good option for heating a mobile home. Still, it’s essential to consider your specific heating needs and budget when deciding which type of heating system is best for your home.

How to Find the Right Size Electric Furnaces for your Mobile Home

AFUE is short for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, which the US Dept. of Energy uses to measure how energy-efficient a furnace is. It shows how effectively the system converts fuel into heat. So, your furnace is working at its peak efficiency. It converts 80% of the energy into heat and loses 20%.

BTU is short for British Thermal Unit, which measures the energy needed to raise one pound of water by one degree. All HVAC systems use this as their standard measurement.

The Cool Calc has a free service to help you pick the proper heating and cooling equipment for your place using Manual J. Plus, Trane’s got a list of must-have variables that need to be considered when calculating the best heating and cooling systems.

Factors in Mobile Home Furnace Sizing

• Square Footage
• Climate Zone (see image below)
• Ductwork Size
• Number and style of windows
• Natural shade or sunlight
• Quality and amount of insulation
• Number of people using the space
• Heat-generating appliances

Square Footage and BTUs

Trane has a chart to help you find how many BTUs you need for your home based on its square footage. The left side of the chart shows how many square feet your house has, and the right side tells you how many BTUs are needed to heat it up.

Rule of Thumb — The maximum size unit you should buy would be 15% over the BTUs you need for cooling and 40% of the BTUs for heating. The max for heat pumps is 25% since it handles both cooling and heating. (Source) Trane

It’s essential to remember that buying a home with HVAC issues can be a bit more complicated than buying one with no issues. Still, with the right approach and by working with a reputable real estate agent and HVAC company, it’s possible to find a mutually beneficial agreement with the seller.

How to Size a Mobile Home Heat Pump

SEER is an acronym for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, which assesses the cooling performance of an air conditioner or heat pump. According to Trane, to figure out the SEER value, you need to divide the cooling output during a regular cooling season by the total energy used over that same period. SEER is like the gas mileage of an air conditioner – the higher, the better. For example, an AC with 13 SEER uses 30% less electricity than one with 10 SEER.

Tonnage measures how much cooling a system can give off in a day. One ton is equivalent to 12,000 BTU/hour, and it takes 288,000 BTU to melt one ton of ice within 24 hours.

It’s hard to know what size of heating system to go for in mobile homes, considering these typically have small & thin ductwork compared to other types. A lot of mobile home ducts are only 4″x10″ which is too tiny and hinders the efficiency & SEER ratio of the heat pump. Refer to the sizing guide above to find out more info.

Can you put Ductless Mini-Splits in a mobile home?

Mini-split systems are great for Mobile homes heated by ductless systems. They’re also an excellent alternative to heat and cool homes without the capacity for ductwork, additions, garages, and more.

Ductless mini-splits are made of an internal air handler, normally wall-mounted, and an external condenser. It’s much more compact than conventional central heating, and air conditioning split systems. In larger homes, you can have up to five indoor air handlers connected to a single condenser which is enough to rival an entire central air unit.

The great thing about a ductless heat pump is that you don’t need to worry about dodgy or outdated ductwork. Instead, you can install the air handler wherever you need to ensure that your most frequently-used rooms stay cozy.

The system—an outdoor unit and a nearly silent, wall-mounted indoor unit—is often called a mini-split heat pump. Heat pump systems have been used in southern climates for decades to heat and cool homes.

However, mini-splits are more energy efficient because they are zoned systems. This means you can change the heating or cooling in one area. Compared with traditional electric heating systems, the EPA-confirmed ENERGY STAR®-rated models can cut your heating bills by up to 50 percent. This is because mini-splits transfer heat instead of creating it.

Unlike traditional air conditioning, a mini-split system could lower your cooling expenses by 30 percent. In addition, the system can save on energy because it uses compressors and fans to adjust cooling speeds. Because there are no ducts on split systems, you won’t have the energy loss associated with ducted systems like central air or heating.

Hillside Oil Heating and Cooling for Mobile Home Heating Needs

In conclusion, Hillside is a leading HVAC company that provides a wide range of heating solutions for mobile homes. Our team of highly trained and experienced technicians is equipped to handle all of your mobile home heating needs, including installation, maintenance, and repairs.

We understand the unique challenges that mobile homes present when it comes to heating, and we have the expertise to provide you with the best solution for your needs. Whether you need a forced-air furnace, baseboard heater, wall heaters, boilers, heat pumps, or ductless mini-splits, we can help.

We pride ourselves on our commitment to customer satisfaction and strive to provide the highest quality service at an affordable price. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that your mobile home heating system runs efficiently and effectively, so you can enjoy a comfortable living space all year round.

If you’re looking for a reliable and experienced HVAC company to take care of your mobile home heating needs, look no further than Hillside. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and see why we are the best choice for your mobile home heating needs.