Home Sweet ‘Efficient’ Home

Whether you’re in the market for a new manufactured home or looking for ways to use less electricity in your existing home, energy efficiency should be a top priority. Like site-built homes, manufactured homes can be designed for energy efficiency. The energy investments you make today will yield savings in the form of lower energy bills for years to come.

When buying a new home, ask your dealer about efficiency upgrades. If you already own your home, making changes now can lower your energy bills, improve your comfort and increase your home’s resale value.

“When it comes to energy efficiency, the primary focus is on how you heat or cool your home and the steps you take to keep that conditioned air inside,” Rhonda Byrd-Lee, Manager, Energy Services says. “There are many ways to increase the energy efficiency of a manufactured home. Some steps you can do yourself, and others require the skills of trained professionals.

Heating and cooling

Your home’s heating and cooling system accounts for about 50 percent of your monthly energy usage, so a high-efficiency heat pump is a wise investment.

“If purchasing a new home, upgrade your heating and cooling unit to an energy-efficient heat pump,” says Byrd-Lee. “Your monthly mortgage bill could be a few dollars higher, but you will more than make up for it in energy savings.”

Considering the relatively small extra cost for the ENERGY STAR option (typically $5 to $10to a monthly loan payment), a heat pump could save you as much as $150 a month in electricity costs just during the winter.

If you already own your home, Byrd-Lee says a new heat pump is a wise investment. “An electric heat pump uses about a third less energy to supply the same heat as a furnace.” 

It’s also important to clean and service your unit annually, and to clean or replace air filters monthly. Keep vents clean and unobstructed, and arrange your furniture to allow air to flow freely. Also consider the placement of your thermostat. Be sure it is located away from heat sources such as fireplaces, stoves or windows, to ensure accurate readings.

Insulation

Insulation is often the biggest energy flaw in older manufactured homes. The crawl space under your home offers access to some of its most important energy details. It’s worth taking the time to inspect this often-neglected area. Your mobile home was designed and built with insulation in the floor, and a layer of fiberboard or “belly paper” to protect this insulation and the plumbing lines above it. This protective layer often gets damaged by animals, weather and deterioration over time, leaving your home exposed to outdoor air that robs energy in both winter and summer.

Replace any missing insulation with fiberglass batts, then repair any damage you find in the belly. Use plywood and screws to repair any damaged fiberboard. Use belly paper (purchased at a mobile home supply shop) and construction adhesive to repair any torn paper.

In a new home, ask your dealer to upgrade the insulation in your floors to R-19. Ceiling insulation should be a minimum of R-28. Homes with four-inch exterior walls should have R11-13 insulation, and six-inch walls should have R-19 insulation. Also request insulated windows that help seal your home, keeping conditioned air inside and the weather outside.

Ductwork

Leaky ductwork can be one of the biggest contributors to high bills in manufactured homes.

Your home’s ductwork is probably installed beneath the floor. Check to see if any of this ductwork is exposed and or if any joints are loose or disconnected. Carefully inspect the area immediately under your heating unit. If you live in a double-wide, inspect the “cross-over duct” that connects the heating system in each half of the home. The cross-overduct often becomes disconnected and it is commonly found problem when conducting energy audits on doublewide homes. If you find disconnected ducts or loose joints, seal them with metal duct tape or with duct mastic.

Proper skirting will prevent damage and the free flow of air under your home, shielding your home from the outside elements, and protecting your ductwork from damage.

Sealing the cracks

During both the heating and cooling seasons, it can be costly to have air leaking (or “infiltrating”) in and out of your home. Manufactured homes are susceptible to air infiltration because they are usually installed off the ground.

Whether or not your home is new, be sure to check these areas:

• Around door and window frames.
• Wherever penetrations through the manufactured home envelope exist, including: gas, electric, water, telephone and TV cable penetrations; heating and cooling system flues, air ducts and ventilation fan ducts.
• At edges and seams of the belly board.
• Wherever the interior finish is penetrated, as for plumbing fixtures (especially the bathtub) and electrical outlets, switch plates and fixtures.
• At seams, joints and holes in the interior paneling, including wall-floor, wall-ceiling and wall-wall junctures.

There are several things you can easily do to stop air infiltration: caulking, weatherstripping, installing gaskets behind electrical outlet and light switch plates, and sealing kitchen and bathroom vents.

Placement of your home

The best site for your home is one that provides the best natural summer coolness and winter warmth as possible. Plant shade trees around your home – particularly on the western side -- taking care not to plant trees under power lines. Your home’s orientation can also affect its energy-efficiency. It will be exposed to more warmth in the winter (and less in the summer) if the long side – the side with the most windows – faces the south.

Other ways to save

Using less energy in your home is as simple as practicing good energy habits. Adjust your thermostat to 78 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter. Change your heating and cooling unit’s filter at least once a month. Use a clothes line instead of a dryer. Adjust your water heater temperature to 120 degrees, and wash clothes in cold water when possible.

“We all have control over how we use energy,” says Byrd-Lee. “Making small lifestyle changes can make a tremendous difference in our energy usage.”

For more low-cost and no-cost energy-saving tips, visit the Conserve 101 section of www.westflorida.coop.