Biden Standard For Manufactured Homes Will Leave Low-Income Households With High Energy Bills

Biden administration standards for manufactured homes will boost the efficiency of more than half of new units, but in a major shortcoming, will require little improvement for smaller models, leaving future low-income residents with high energy bills.

single-wide models

The long-awaited standards from the Department of Energy (DOE) will require a majority of new manufactured homes (often known as mobile homes) to have significantly more insulation than they must today, as well as other energy-efficiency improvements. But all of the homes will still be allowed to be far less efficient than site-built homes in states with up-to-date codes.

And the smaller “single-wide” models delivered on a truck in just one section representing about 45% of today’s new manufactured homes may still be made with only thin insulation or with single-pane windows. The efficiency requirements for those homes will be only slightly stronger than those in place since 1994.

Addressing high energy bill problems

Going forward the administration certainly shouldn’t make a habit of letting manufacturers make more-wasteful homes"

“Residents of poorly insulated manufactured homes have paid high energy bills for far too long. This rule gives manufacturers the green light to keep building models with the same problems,” said Steven Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

He adds, “It’s going to leave many of the lowest-income households paying painfully high utility bills for even more years to come. Going forward the administration certainly shouldn’t make a habit of letting manufacturers make more-wasteful homes and products for lower-income people.”

affordable housing

Manufactured homes are a critical type of affordable housing; a majority of households who live in them have incomes under two times the federal poverty level. But the homes often waste large amounts of energy because of limited insulation and outdated windows and heating equipment.

Energy costs are about 70% more per square foot in these homes compared to site-built homes, and a quarter of their residents spend more than 10% of their income on energy costs, ACEEE has found.

new standards

The new standards based on a proposal from DOE will save consumers $5.06 billion in costs (present value at a 3% discount rate, net after added investments) and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80.4 million metric tons over 30 years, according to DOE.

DOE’s analysis found that a stronger standard requiring similar improvements for all models would have reduced residents’ overall costs over time, as the upfront costs would be exceeded by the reduced energy bills. An ACEEE study published in February found that the lowest-income residents who are rarely the first purchasers of the homes would particularly benefit from a stronger standard ensuring all new units are significantly more efficient.