Installing HVAC Into A Mobile Home In Penrose, NC

Uninvited Guests do Damage!

When a home or vacation home is unoccupied for some time, homeowners can often find a surprise when they come back. Sometimes it’s just overgrown landscaping, and sometimes it’s damage caused by weather or furry friends who’ve decided your home is their home as well!

That’s what happened to the owners of this mobile home in Penrose, NC. When they came up to their home, they discovered the heating and cooling system wasn’t working and gave our experts at Blue Ridge Heating and Air a call to see if we could figure out what needed to be done.

The existing heat pump system that they had been using was 13 years old, which is usually towards the end of the lifespan of these systems. But the big problem here wasn’t just an aging heat pump, but the fact that some critters- likely racoons or other varmints - had gotten into the ductwork that ran under the mobile home and did some serious damage.  

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Problem: Owner of this mobile home in the Jeter Mountain community of Penrose, NC discovered the old heat pump was not heating or cooling properly, and because it hadn’t been occupied for a while, critters had destroyed the ductwork. 

Solution: A two zone Mitsubishi ductless system will keep the home comfortable and eliminate the previous problems with critters in the ductwork.

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How To Critter-Proof A Mobile Home

Once we got to the bottom of the problem, the next step was to look at options that would prevent this kind of thing from happening again. The great team here at Blue Ridge Heating and Air knew a ductless system could provide the heating and cooling the owners needed for the home, without needing to use the ductwork. In addition, by eliminating the ductwork from the home, we would be eliminating the extra living space for nature’s uninvited guests to take up residence again!

Designing a system for Just the Right Level Of Comfort

Mobile homes can be a little tricky to heat and cool, because they are long and narrow, with rooms usually located off a main hallway. There’s often a big center room  and a kitchen, and usually a bedroom or two on the opposite end of the home. For this home, the owners used the back bedrooms of the home for storage only, so they were more interested in comfort for the kitchen and living room areas, which they used on a consistent basis.

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Ductless System Provides Energy Efficient Comfort

Mitsubishi ductless heating and cooling systems are high-efficiency heat pumps, that can both heat and cool your home. They have two main components- an outdoor condenser unit, and indoor units, sometimes called heads or cassettes, which usually are mounted up on a wall, out of the way. Because of these two components, these systems are often referred to as “Mini-splits.”

Based on the needs of the owners of this mobile home, we recommended a two zone solution - two indoor heads, one for the kitchen and one for the living room area, where the owners spent most of their time. One outdoor condenser can be sized to power multiple indoor units, and each of the indoor units creates a separate zone of heating and cooling.  Each indoor unit can be controlled independently by a handheld remote- or even by a smartphone app. That means you can add a little more coolness to the kitchen while cooking, while not affecting the people comfortably hanging out in the living room- giving everyone the comfort they need.

We removed the old heat pump and ductwork, and we also took extra care to mount the outdoor condenser unit off the ground, keeping it free of leaves and debris that might affect its operation, and making it easier to clean and maintain.

Customized Comfort With Ductless Mini Splits

We mounted one of the indoor heads up at the peak of the ceiling in the living room, where  the sensors could monitor the room. The advanced sensors in these Mitsubishi Ductless systems allow them to essentially scan the room, and distribute air evenly throughout, eliminating hot and cold spots. The inverter system is designed so the system turns on just enough to maintain a consistent level of comfort, kind of like cruise control on your car. That means the variable speed fan and inverter helps the system to monitor your comfort, delivering just the heating or cooling needed. And because there are no big swings in temperature, you end up using less energy, and that means lower energy bills each month with greater comfort!

The home also had a small wall mounted heater and gas logs they could use for supplemental heat if needed, on those rare occasions things get very cold. But since Mitsubishi Electric Ductless systems work efficiently down to even -13F, we think the homeowners will end up using their gas logs more for atmosphere than heating with this new system installed!

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A Second Head for the Kitchen

We also mounted another indoor head in the kitchen area as well. This means extra comfort while cooking and dining, and that means more relaxing with friends and family without getting hot under the collar!

Saving Money On Monthly Energy Bills

One of the great things about Mitsubishi Ductless is how energy-efficient it is. It’s up to 70% more efficient than baseboard heating and up to 30% more efficient in cooling, which means it qualifies for energy saving rebates from Duke Energy.

In addition, the systems qualify for federal tax credits of up to $2,000 depending on your system, under the new Inflation Reduction Act. That can mean big savings, making this change in system can be more affordable than ever. Along with smaller energy bills each month and  the ability to control the system remotely from a smart phone app, this system will serve these homeowners well for many years to come- critter-free!

If You’re Having Heating and Cooling Problems, Give Us a Call!

We were happy to help these owners get the comfort they wanted in their home, and help make it “critter-free” (or at least Critter resistant!) with a two-zone Mitsubishi ductless system. These systems also come with a ten year warranty, which will help ensure comfort for years to come.  If you are having heating or cooling issues in your home, or of you have areas that just always seem to be too hot or too cold, give us a call here at Blue ridge Heating & air!  We can help design a solution that will keep you comfortable- in your home, and in your wallet!

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Buying An Air Conditioner From Blue Ridge

During the summer, you need an air conditioner to keep your home cool. We have installed hundreds of air conditioners, and we want to tell you a little more about the process. In this article, we want to take you through each step, from when we first come assess your situation, until we install the air conditioner. Our goal is to meet or surpass your expectations throughout the entire process.

In this article, we are going to break down the Blue Ridge process into 3 parts:

• Consultation

• Sale

• Installation

If you'd like to speak to someone now about an air conditioner for your home or business, give us a call, or click on the button below to contact us online.

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Consultation

It would be ideal if we could just give you a set price online for each air conditioner, but the truth is, a bit more goes into the estimate. This is due to the customized nature of the installation process at each home, in addition to the variations in air conditioner features and efficiencies that customers prefer. 

That being said, a homeowner can expect a new air conditioner installation price to start around $7000 for the outdoor condenser unit and indoor coil. This is typically a very standard AC system, with the lowest efficiency rating. As the energy efficiency levels rise, so will the price of the air conditioner. 

Air conditioner cooling efficiency is measured using Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER. As the SEER number rises, the efficiency rises as well. This will lead to a more expensive price tag, but lower energy bills to offset that cost! Your air conditioner should last for 10+ years, so making sure that your energy bills are under control during that time is important. 

The purpose of the consultation is to fully understand the customer’s needs and expectations. Prior to coming to your home, if time allows, our comfort specialist will perform a heat load calculation. Most of the information needed to do this is available from third-party online sources such as Zillow.com. However, they may need to call you to complete the analysis or complete it once they are at your home. An example output of this analysis is shown below. You can see that about 36,000 BTUs (3 Tons) of energy are needed to cool this home.

Using this information, we will be able to measure how much cooling energy will be needed from your new air conditioner. We will give you some different options, with different ranges of energy efficiency. Remember, the more energy efficiency your heat pump is, the less money you will spend on utility bills throughout the year. 

You can think about this like you do vehicles. You can buy the Dodge Charger and get 22 miles per gallon, or the Honda Accord and get 36 miles per gallon. Both can accomplish the mission, but one does it at much lower operational expense. 

Air conditioners come in a few different styles as well. You can install a traditional AC system that uses ducts to deliver the cooled air throughout your home. This system will provide even and consistent cooling throughout your home, making every space the same temperature. 

You may also consider a ductless mini split air conditioning system. You’ve probably seen these in businesses, and maybe even a friend’s home, and not even realized it.  They require no ductwork. They run using a condenser outside that can hook up to head units or cassettes inside through a small bit of tubing. You can learn a little more about ductless mini splits here.  Although ductless systems do come in air-conditioning-only product offerings, it is more typical for customers to buy ductless heat pumps so the same unit will provide heat in the winter unless there is another source of heat for the home.

During the consultation, we will take you through the best options that suit your situation. 

In addition to ensuring we size the air conditioner correctly for your home, we also want to ensure the duct system is sized correctly for the amount of airflow needed to condition the home. It is quite common for air returns to be undersized, which can impede efficient conditioning of the home and shorten equipment life. The overall condition of your duct system can be assessed as well.

The logistics of replacing your air conditioner’s indoor coil also must be assessed. Is the access hole to the attic or crawl space limited in size? Can the installers safely access the working area? Sometimes, additional plywood is secured to the joists in the attic to improve working efficiency and safety. You will see the comfort specialist capture most of this information in a digital form on their iPad, along with many pictures and some videos. These are instrumental in helping the installation team to be well-prepared when they arrive.

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The Sale

Our goal is to help educate you as much as possible so that you can make an informed decision that leaves you with no regrets. We want to tell you everything about our company, our people, our standard of service, and the products we have to offer. We want you to know by the end of your consultation if you want to do business with us or not. Yes is great, and no is ok.

Our quotes are provided with a total investment price, and a payments (financed) price. We have a number of financing options that can help to manage the expense of a new installation.

If you sign off on a proposed solution while our comfort specialist is still at your home, you will provide a deposit in the form of a check or credit card. Alternatively, if you plan to finance the purchase, you would apply for financing at this time.

The comfort specialist will ask you for your preferred installation date or dates.

If you decide later on, for example on another day, to move forward with the installation, contact the main office or reply to the email address on your quote. You will be contacted to secure your deposit or financing, and to determine when you prefer the installation. We have a note explaining this on all of our quotes, but you should be aware that our quotes are valid for 30 days. If you make a decision to use us after 30 days, we may need to update our quote as equipment prices and other variables may change.

The Installation

Once you’ve made the decision to move forward on an installation with Blue Ridge Heating and Air, the Installation Manager will pull the permit with the county or city as applicable and contact you to solidify the installation date.

The day before the installation, the Installation Manager will re-confirm the install for the next day with you. On the morning of the install, the Lead Installer will call you before leaving the shop as a final confirmation. The Lead Installer will be your primary point of contact during the installation, but you are free to contact the Installation Manager with any questions or concerns.

After the installation is complete, the final payment will be collected or monthly payments activated. The Lead Installer will review the Comfort Maintenance Plan with you, and then request a want-date for the inspection. At a later date, the office will schedule the date of inspection and inform you. The inspector will inform you and the company of the inspection result. Should the inspection fail for any reason, Blue Ridge Heating & Air will contact you to schedule a date to come resolve the issue.

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In Summary

We know that Blue Ridge Heating and Air is not going to be the best fit for everyone. You will find a wide range of pricing in the market. Generally, the low end of the pricing begins with the phrase, “I know a guy…, or My cousin does side work…, etc.” If that sounds appealing to you, we are not a good fit. Our pricing may be 20 to 50% higher than these options. You should not expect a permit, inspection, or strong follow-up service in these cases.

The other end of the pricing spectrum is typically associated with the larger, well-known company names in the area. Their reputations are easily assessed by looking at the reviews on their websites and Google profiles. Quite often, they have solid reputations and will stand behind their work. On occasion, we have seen their prices be 1.5 to 2 times higher than ours when we’ve crossed paths with a customer. We think that you will find that Blue Ridge Heating and Air pricing lies somewhere in between these two extremes. We do have overhead, a building, trucks, benefits for our valued team members, regular factory training on equipment, etc. So we will never have the lowest price out there. However, we pride ourselves on “Going the Extra Mile” for our customers. If you do not have this type of experience with us, our management and owners want to know about it and make it right.

Replacing A Boiler With A Ductless Mini Split System

When the boiler that heated this home failed and needed to be replaced, the homeowners gave us a call at Blue Ridge Heating & Air to see what their options were. The home didn’t have any ductwork, so they were using window air conditioners to keep cool in the summer and radiators for heat in the cooler weather. 

Problem: The owners of this older home in Connestee Falls needed heating and air conditioning in their home when their old boiler system needed to be replaced.

Solution: A new Mitsubishi ductless system will bring comfort to both floors of the home, keeping the owners comfortable year-round.

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Finding a Great Solution for the Home

One of the things we suggested was to consider a Mitsubishi ductless system.  Mitsubishi ductless systems are designed to work without ductwork, and can be designed to provide both heating and cooling throughout the home. Ductless systems are high-efficiency heat pumps that can both heat and cool your home through the same unit. They are also great at controlling humidity. This would give the homeowners a more efficient heating system and cooling from each unit, allowing them to ditch the window air conditioners that take up windows for a good portion of the year, and are a pain to install and store each year as well!

When we came to the home, we also noticed that the homeowners had a hobby room with lots of material for sewing and quilting. That’s important because if it’s constantly too humid in a home, fabric can develop mold and mildew which can do a lot of damage, as well as give material a funky odor. With a Mitsubishi ductless system, the unit can monitor the space for both temperature and humidity, and make the adjustments necessary to keep both in balance!

How Does Ductless Work?

Ductless systems are heat pump systems that are often called “mini-splits” because they consist of two main components- an outdoor condenser unit, and indoor heads or cassettes, that are often mounted up on a wall, out of the way.  The outdoor condenser can be sized to power up to eight indoor heads, each head creating a separate zone of heating and cooling that can be controlled independently. 

The two pieces of the system are connected by lines filled with refrigerant that can transfer heat efficiently from the outdoors inside to heat the area, or reverse the process, extracting heat from the home and transferring it outside in the summer!

The indoor heads are mounted up on the wall, where their advanced sensors can monitor the temperature and humidity in the room. The system is designed with inverter technology, so it can work at multiple speed settings, kind of like the dimmer switch on a light. By using just the energy needed to keep the room comfortable, you’ll get more consistent comfort using less energy than with conventional systems- and this can lead to big savings on your energy bills. All you have to do is set the comfort level with your hand held remote- or from an app on your smart phone- and the system will maintain a consistent level of comfort for you!

Inverter technology helps make Mitsubishi ductless systems really efficient- In fact, Mitsubishi ductless systems are up to 70% more efficient in heating and up to 30% more efficient in cooling than conventional solutions. That means you’ll get more comfort while spending way less on your energy bills each month. In addition, the high efficiency ratings for these systems makes them eligible for rebates through your energy company and they qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act as well!  

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Dual Zones for Comfort and Savings

The homeowners decided that two zones of Mitsubishi ductless heating and air conditioning, one for each floor of the home, would give them the comfort they needed year round. Because of the location of the units inside, we were able to use one outdoor condenser unit to power both indoor units, saving additional money on the installation.

We installed one unit downstairs in the main living room area of the home. The placement of the unit will ensure that the heated or cooled air is distributed evenly throughout the room, giving the homeowners the comfort they need.

On the second floor, we located the unit in the crafts/sewing room, where the homeowner spent a lot of time.  This is where having a system that controls both temperature and humidity will be especially important!

As anyone from our area knows, the humidity during parts of the year can be intense. Built up moisture can cause havoc with fabrics- even a little too much moisture can lead to mildew, and that can ruin fabrics with stains and smells that may be impossible to remove.  By locating the unit in the crafts room, the homeowner will be able to ensure their materials are always in a humidity controlled environment, where they won’t be damaged. 

Because Mitsubishi ductless systems are whisper-quiet, the system will provide optimum comfort, and you’ll barely notice anything except comfort when the units switch on. The homeowner will now be able to work as long as they want on their projects, with the temperature and humidity set perfectly. And if they want to take a call, watch TV or listen to music, they will never have to turn it up because the AC is too loud, ever again!

Don’t Forget the Savings!

As we mentioned above, this two zone system allows you to operate each head independently, meaning you can have one level of comfort downstairs, while having a totally different level on the second floor.  That also means you can put the systems into energy -savings mode when you aren’t using the space, saving you even more money on energy.

The high-efficiency Mitsubishi electric ductless system is so energy-efficient, they qualify for rebates from Duke Energy and also for rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act, up to $2,000! That helps make a Mitsubishi ductless system even more affordable! But it’s the smaller energy bills each month that any homeowner on a budget really appreciates!  

Call Us If You’re Looking for Low Cost Comfort in Your Home

The experienced experts here at Blue Ridge Heating and Air helped design a perfect system for this home that met the needs of the homeowners for comfort and cost- and we can do the same for you! If you have an area of your home that’s always too hot or too cold, or if you’re just sick and tired of window air conditioners and their noise, give us a call here at Blue Ridge Heating and Air.  Our experienced team will help design a system that meets your needs and comes in on budget as well!

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