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Warning Notice
To
Manufactured Home Owners!
We know that you, as the owner, would like in many instances to be able to take advantage of the several rebate programs available to owners of stick built homes.
We sympathize with your situation, and would really like to sell you the equipment you desire.
Before you purchase a non-approved for manufactured housing high efficiency heat pump, please consider these facts.
All heat pumps and air conditioners are rated by ARI (The Air conditioning and Refrigeration Institute). These ratings are given for specific complete systems.
This means a specific outdoor unit, indoor coil, and air handler (furnace).
What this means to you the owner, is that if a "mix and match" system with parts from two or more manufacturers does not have ARI certification as to performance, and it is questionable as to the actual S.E.E.R and H.S.P.F. values.
The biggest problem with ultra high efficiency (14 S.E.E.R. & 16 S.E.E.R.) availability for manufactured homes is in the electric furnace. There are at present, no approved furnaces with the required variable speed blowers on the market to meet both the manufactured home builders space requirements and air flow certification, and there are no non-approved furnaces with variable speed blowers that will fit the existing alcoves, or meet the high static pressure ratings required by the unique duct systems found in manufactured homes.
Note: The installation of a furnace designed for stick built homes in a manufactured home is an automatic major safety violation of the Uniform Mechanical Code unless the existing duct system is removed and replaced with one containing an appropriately sized discharge plenum and distributing duct system.
If someone tells you that "Brand X" equipment mixed with "Brand Y" coil on your furnace will meet certain performance ratings on a manufactured home duct system, make them prove it with the ARI rating book.
In Oregon, the various inspecting authorities generally ignore the requirement that systems be complete matching equipment for a given rating, and at times we understand the rebate organizations also overlook this requirement.
We at C. H. S. Services are understandably proud of the fact that we are a certified efficiency testing company, and any equipment that we install on any home will in fact be ARI rated at the performance level quoted.
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