Over ten percent of Americans choose to live in manufactured homes, and most of those are in mobile home parks. Those who don’t know anything about mobile home living may be wondering what benefits are included in this lifestyle. Here is a brief list, and I’m leaving off many benefits to focus on the big ones.

Amenities are very common in mobile home parks, and they arewell used in the community. Most Mobile Home Parks have a pool and spa and a clubhouse and maybe some shuffleboard. They are upkept by a property management company that handles the cleaning, lawncare, security system, and other forms of maintenance. Since many mobile home parks have a large retired population, these amenities are well used and are a great way to meet your neighbors.

Mobile Home parks also have a great communal feel to them. It is a throwback to times when your neighbor watched out for your home when you were on vacation. People go for walks around the community, and they even stop to say hi and will have a conversation with you until it’s dark. The casual atmosphere makes mobile home communities a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle that American life has become.

Many people have a stigma of living in a mobile home, the phrase “trailer trash” comes to mind. I assure you that this is not the case in a mobile home community. The “trailer trash” stigma is from the country folks that live in a mobile home placed on an acre of land in rural areas. Mobile home living is as far away from that as possible. In fact, manufactured homes are beautifully crafted today, with vaulted ceilings, energy efficient add-ons, and cosmetic features for the inside and outside of the home. You may have been in a manufactured home recently and not even known it.

For these reasons, many Americans love their mobile home park lifestyles, and they would not live anywhere else.

modern manufactured home

The new iHouse by Clayton offers a modern and energy efficiency in a manufactured home design, with a price tag starting at about $100,000. This is the first of it’s kind in the manufactured housing community, and it is revolutionary.

Insulating your walls, floor and ceiling in your mobile home will save on energy costs

Insulation in walls, floors, and ceilings acts like a blanket, keeping the heat inside your home in winter—and keeping the heat out of your air-conditioned home in summer. Like a blanket, the thicker the insulation, the better it works. The performance level of insulation is called its R-value, which indicates its resistance to heat flow. (As R-value goes up, energy use goes down).

Insulation in manufactured home walls and floors is usually fiberglass batts. Ceiling insulation is usually loose-fill fiberglass or cellulose. Before the first energy crisis in 1973, most homes built in the U.S.—including manufactured homes—contained little insulation. The level of insulation used in homes has been increasing ever since. The recommended amount of insulation for a given house depends on its climate; colder climates generally demand more insulation.

Determine if your home is a candidate for adding insulation. Decide what part of your home, if any, should be insulated: floor, ceiling and/or walls.

Save energy with storm windows in your manufactured home.

In manufactured homes, Storm windows can be installed over existing windows to improve their insulation value and dramatically reduce air leakage and drafts. Separate, removable storm windows can be installed in seasons when heating or cooling is typically necessary. Storm windows can be removed during more temperate seasons or if windows need to be operable for ventilation. Storm windows are most needed in cold climates, and less important in warmer regions. Triple-track storm windows, mounted outside the primary windows, open and close easily and provide screens, but they are quite expensive and generally must be installed by professionals. Interior storm windows have been found to work best for manufactured homes, and only these will be addressed here.

Not all storm windows will work on manufactured homes because of the way windows are installed. Be sure you select windows suitable for your home. Following these tips will reduce the cost of heating your home and make it more comfortable during the coldest times of the year.

Even though storm windows add little to the insulating performance of single-glazed windows (that are in good condition,) field studies have found that they can help to reduce air movement into and out of existing windows. Therefore, they help reduce heating and cooling costs.

Storm windows are available for most types of windows. They can be installed on the interior or exterior of the primary window. They range from the inexpensive plastic sheets or films designed for one heating season, to triple-track glass units with low-emissivity coatings that offer many years of use. Mid-priced storm windows may use glass, plastic panels, or special plastic sheets that have specific optical qualities. Those made of polycarbonate plastic or laminated glass also offer a high degree of resistance to breaking during storms and/or from intruders.

Reduce solar heat in your mobile home.

Sunlight coming in through the windows in your manufactured home is a major contributor to cooling bills in many areas of the country. Trees and other foliage can be very effective in shading a manufactured home, but there are other relatively simple options available to reduce the heat while maintaining views. Blocking sunlight has other benefits, including less fading of furniture and carpets, more comfortable temperatures in rooms with large windows, and less glare.

According to an article  Bob Vila’s website, there are several to reduce solar heat. Shades or blinds will block sunlight and the heat from entering windows. Another method to block solar heat is by way of coatings and films on the window glass.

The following are the percentages of the radiant energy that different types of internal shading devices transmit, reflect, or absorb:

• Roller Shades: up to 25%, 15-80%, 20-65%
• Vertical Blinds: 0%, 23%, 77%
• Venetian Blinds: 5%, 40-60%, 35-55%

Lower energy costs in your manufactured home with an efficient water heater.

Most manufactured homes have conventional storage-tank water heaters located in closets. Older manufactured homes sometimes have smaller water heaters in kitchen cabinets instead. Electric and gas-fired water heaters are the most common.

Water heating accounts for about 15% of energy costs in a typical manufactured home. Improving the energy efficiency of the water heater can save a significant amount of money over the water heater’s lifetime.

Saving Energy with a Refridgerator

Refrigerators account for about one-sixth of the typical electric bill for an American home and 9% of the total energy used in manufactured homes. Old, inefficient models are good candidates for replacement.

Today’s refrigerators use 40% less electricity than 20-year-old models. An old, inefficient refrigerator can cost up to $280 a year to run; a new, efficient refrigerator can save more than $150 each year over a 20-year-old model. While the savings will be less if replacing a newer refrigerator, it still will save between $35 and $70 per year. That’s $525 to $1,050 during the 15-year typical lifespan of a refrigerator.

Lighting Efficeincy in mobile homes

Lighting is responsible for about 12% of the energy used in a typical American manufactured home.

Nearly every manufactured home can benefit from improved lighting efficiency. No matter the type of lighting in your home, there are opportunities to lower your monthly energy costs by reducing your electricity use. You can also improve the quality of light at the same time.

Leaky Ducts in a Manufactured Home make the AC or heater work overtime.

Most manufactured homes have forced-air heating systems. Air from the home is forced through the furnace, where it is warmed by a hot metal heat exchanger or electric heating coils. The warm air is then blown through a system of ducts, and out into each room through registers. In most mobile homes with central air conditioning, the same ducts are used for delivering chilled air during the summer.

The ducts in manufactured homes are commonly in the floor or in hotter climates they may be in the ceiling. Typically, each section of a manufactured home has a main trunk duct running its length. Multi-section mobile homes (such as double-wide units) usually have crossover ducts that connect the main trunk ducts. With ceiling-duct systems, the crossover is in the attic and usually inaccessible.  In floor-duct systems, the crossover is beneath the home and accessible from the crawlspace.

Leaky ducts are common in older manufactured homes and can dramatically increase heating and cooling bills. It is not uncommon for an older duct system to lose 20% of the heated or chilled air to the outside. If your annual heating and cooling bill is $2,000 and your ducts are leaky, you could be spending $400 every year to heat and cool the outdoors.

Compared to other energy upgrade measures in a typical manufactured home, sealing the ductwork has one of the largest payoffs relative to its cost. You’ll save on your heating and cooling bills, enjoy increased comfort, and reduce the risk of moisture problems.

How to save energy on your Manufactured Home Cooling system

There are two varied categories of air conditioners: individual room units (the window-mounted kind), and central systems. Central air conditioners can be categorized into systems which have the compressor located outdoors, while the evaporator is inside the home; and packaged systems, in which the whole unit sits outside with ducts carrying air to and from the house. In either type of central system, chilled air is blown through ducts (located either under the floor or in the attic), and into the living space through registers or grates (see diagrams).

An efficiently operating cooling system in a manufactured home is critical to decreased energy use and increased comfort, particularly in warm climates. A well-maintained air conditioning system will use 15% to 40% less energy than a neglected one. There are several components in mobile home cooling systems that need to be properly maintained. Following the instruction manual’s maintenance schedule will extend the life of your cooling system, and keep it running smoothly and efficiently, which will save you money.