All Forum Posts by: Marco-Dane Samuels

 The most overlooked part of residential HVAC is the envelope that's being conditioned, i.e. the house. A mobile home is not in any way shape or form a house. Especially an old mobile home. The amount of air leakage and thermal conductance/resistance (insulation) is far more important to the size of the system (measured in tonnage). Again a house and mobile home aren't even close to being the same. 

A mobile has virtually no wall bay thickness, no attic (slows transfer of ambient temp) and under a mobile is very poorly insulated. In many states building departments are not involved with mobile homes.

The old tribal calculation of 1 ton per 500 square foot is being eliminated by mandate through improved envelope effeciency in new construction and required retrofits during remodels. But mobile homes are not included.

The only way to establish the efficiency of the envelope is a HERS test using a blower door and measuring how many cubic ft a minute it takes to pressurize the envelope to 50 Pascal. A HERS test will also measure DLTO (Duct loss to outside) which is incredibly important to effeciency. The issue with a mobile home is (due to accessibility) these inefficiencies would be cost prohibitive to remedy.

Most of my installs either FAU or HP are all dual zone. The 2nd stage can be disabled easily if not required, the cost of the capital equipment is almost the same, but without the 2nd stage there's no "wiggle " room for outlier extremes in ambient temp. 

Old systems operate in the form of on/off, that's not effecient. New systems "ramp" up and down through various methods. Note that OEM's are mandated to make more effecient units.

Based on the IECC climate map and the structure this looks like a pretty good system for the application.

Typically mobile homes have ducts under the structure with floor registers. In such an old unit I'd pay alot of attention to the possibility of leakage and constriction. Also old R6 (or worse) duct insulation wastes alot of energy ($). Floor registers get filled with debris too. Stamped steel registers are also bad. 

Ask your tech if he understands the HVAC requirements of Manual J,S and D. If he does he'll understand cost effective ways to raise efficiency and lower operating cost.

If you are in a climate zone that makes a heat pump appropriate (they work and save money even in Michigan) they will have environmental, comfort, and financial benefits for the home's occupants.

This price seems reasonable for a 2.5 ton installation. You're basically replacing the air conditioner with a +$2,500 surcharge for it being a heat pump that has a reversing valve to provide heat in the winter. 

I haven't looked in a few months, but the HEEHRA should cover a significant portion of these costs. I looked through your post history and it looks like you're starting out & have to watch $ (me too!). Keep an eye on this link for next steps on how to use these funds! https://www.rewiringamerica.org/policy/high-efficiency-elect...

That is more than double what I paid for 2 systems for a 2400sf home in Vegas but I suppose it’s market dependent. I’ve never heard of anyone bothering to put a 2 stage system in a mobile home, I bet 90% of regular homes don’t have 2 stage. 

Reach out to some local parks and ask who they use? A $12,000 system can not be the go to system for a mobile home, I refuse to believe it. 

Good luck. Let me know what you find. 

that is an expensive replacement. We have done several homes 1300-1500 soft with a completely new furnace & central a/c for $5400-$7000 depending on the extra duct work etc needed for new runs. 

Then again when away on vacation I did get smoked by another HVAC company for $2300 to replace a 40gall electric HW tank with a new dedicated circuit to the panel. I could have done it myself for $475.

Mobile homes in parks also make excellent flip projects. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years and my profit margins range from 50% to 200%. Much higher than real estate flips.

@Gabriel Meyers There aren't as many deals out there these days because of current interest rates! Are you planning to use your VA loan? I would find a rock star real estate agent in Fayetteville and get them to start sending you properties.

I would start learning about the house hacking strategy as well.