Remodeling Your Manufactured Home For Energy Efficiency
Understanding that today’s modern manufactured home is specially designed and built to be very energy efficient – complete with solar panels, heat pumps, energy efficient windows and doors, and increased insulation — owners of older manufactured and mobile homes have posed this question to us…
“How can we retrofit or remodel our older manufactured or mobile home in order to increase energy efficiency – and decrease our carbon footprint?”
Remodeling Your Manufactured Home For Energy Efficiency
For those that want to help the Earth and improve the energy efficiency of their older, pre-HUD manufactured home or mobile home, a few simple upgrades have been shown to result in the reduction of energy consumption by over 30%.
According to energy.gov, individuals can reduce their heating fuel consumption by up to 31% by taking these seven simple steps:
1. Install energy-efficient windows and doors
2. Add insulation to the belly
3. Make general repairs (caulking, ducts, etc.)
4. Add insulation to your walls
5. Install insulated skirting
6. Install a belly wrap
7. Add insulation to your roof, or install a roof cap
There are three techniques most commonly used to upgrade roof insulation in the insulation cavity installed by the manufactured home builder. These are boring and blowing insulation through the inside of the unit, blowing insulation in from the top of the home, and the (never popular) peeling back the roof and blowing insulation into the open cavity.
Rather than fill the existing insulation cavity, some insulation professionals prefer to use roof caps for insulating, due to their ease of installation. For DIY handyman, utilizing roof caps will work just fine. However, the handy do-it-yourselfer needs to bear in mind, roof caps perform at a level significantly below more costly blown insulation. Roof cap insulation kits include insulation boards (generally made from dense fiberglass) with a durable, synthetic rubber or metal layer.
For manufactured homeowners looking to further boost their energy savings, consider caulking and weatherstripping windows and doors — especially if you can’t replace them with more energy-efficient ones. In addition, ensuring any openings around plumbing fixtures and ducts are sealed air-tight will help further conserve energy. Finally, choosing energy-efficient lighting and appliances always goes a long way toward reducing your cost of ownership.
