Prefab Fore: Manufactured Housing Prioritizes Next-Gen Energy Efficiency within Mobile Home Industry
Whether you call them mobile homes or trailer homes or, modern manufactured housing makes up close to 10% of new, single-family housing starts and plays a key role in residential living for many Americans.
Although they lack the status and perhaps permanence of foundation-built residential homes, prefabricated housing builders produced close to 95,000 units per year. The residences are a solid part of the national housing economy, and many manufactured home buyers also are demanding state-of-the-art energy efficiency assets within the wheeled domiciles.
According to the National Association of Home Builders’ 2021 “What Home Buyers Really Want” report, energy efficient features are one of the most-crucial features in a home. The survey stated that 83 percent of buyers require ENERGY STAR Certified windows, 81 percent of buyers need ENERGY STAR Certified appliances and 80 percent of buyers look for energy efficient lighting.
Sustainable prefab homes focus on green and clean energy while utilizing low VOC (volatile organic compounds) or non-toxic materials. A sustainable home uses the newest recycled construction materials for internal walls, roofs, and insulation. For instance, recycled materials and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified timber are used for internal and roofing panels.
Manufactured homebuilder Champion Homes Inc. recently launched its EcoWise series of units. These homes are designed to upgrade energy efficiency to a level that adding renewable energy assets can reportedly offset most or all of the home’s annual energy use, according to Champion’s release.
Showcasing what Champion Homes called its most energy efficient designs to date, EcoWise™ homes meet or exceed the federal government's most rigorous guidelines for high-performance homes as a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home program. EcoWise™ is available now in the Northeastern United States for homes built by Champion Homes’s Sangerfield, N.Y., manufacturing facility.
“We’re thrilled to launch EcoWise in the Northeast region as a demonstration of Champion Homes’s commitment to sustainability,” said Champion Homes Regional Vice President, Northeast, David Reed, in a statement. “EcoWise homes are exceptionally high-quality houses that offer buyers lower utility bills and an overall more comfortable living environment.”
DOE has a website on Affordable and Energy Efficient Manufactured Housing. This page includes info on high-efficiency heating and cooling systems as well as ENERGY STAR-certified appliances. For the Champion Homes’ EcoWise line, the ENERGY STAR appliances and fixtures include Whirlpool washers and dryers, a programmable thermostat, Rheem Heat Pump water heaters and Airquest furnaces.
Today's manufacturing housing also deploys high-efficiency windows and high-performance insulations in walls, floor and roof. Groups such as Electric Power Research Institute are working on all-electric and net-zero-friendly manufacturing housing projects.
An article in market publication Mobilehomesell.com ranks its most energy-efficient manufactured home lines, including the Imperial, TNR, Clayton Homes’ Satisfaction model, The Delight and the Mon Reve.
