Electric furnace for mobile and modular homes

For optional subsequent utilization of a heat pump or air conditioner,

• a down-flow type furnace for doorless closet installation in mobile or modular homes and the like, comprising
• an enclosed upright rectangular heater-blower cabinet having
• a lower air outlet duct opening in the cabinet bottom wall,
• an electric heating element,
• a blower,
• an air inlet opening in the cabinet top wall,
• forward cabinet door means to provide access to said heating elements and blower, and
• an air inlet assembly including
• a rectangular frame member having three free edges,
• whereby said edges may on installation be connected to the final wall trim of such doorless closet,
• said frame member having an opening commencing above and adjacent to said cabinet top wall, the opening width being substantially the entire width of said cabinet, and
• an air conducting panel removably secured across said frame member opening;
• whereby the height of the furnace cabinet and height of its installation are minimized while removal of said air conducting panel affords optimum access through said frame member opening for installing on the cabinet top wall, and servicing a refrigeration coil assembly of such a heat pump or air conditioner.

The method of installing an electric furnace in a mobile home or the like, for subsequent utilization of a refrigerant coil, comprising the steps of

• installing in a doorless closet space upon a floor duct plenum, a down-flow heater-blower cabinet having a top wall air inlet, and
• constructing a forward closet wall immediately above the edge of the top wall of the heater-blower cabinet and finishing same to the top and side edges of a frame commencing about the level of such top wall and extending upward,
• the frame having an air conducting panel;
• and thereafter
• removing such air conducting panel and positioning through such frame, on the top wall of the heater-blower cabinet about its air inlet, an uncased refrigerant coil and operatively connecting same to an outdoor coil and to the electric furnace,
• whereby, on adding the uncased refrigerant coil, return air may flow through the air conducting panel to and through the coil and thence through the heating elements of the electric furnace.