No one likes paying a high utility bill, manufactured homeowners included. Fortunately, you can take some easy steps to reduce your bill while also improving your home’s energy efficiency.
At Prestige Home Centers, we have over 30 years of experience being a trusted guide to manufactured home buyers and owners in our community. Read on to learn what we recommend to our customers.
Reducing Your Utility Bill
In addition to keeping your blinds closed as much as possible and decreasing water usage when you can, focusing on the following things will help get your utility bill back down to a manageable level.
Add Insulation
One of the best ways to improve your manufactured home’s utility bill is to add insulation to trap heated and cooled air in your home rather than allowing it to escape, leading your HVAC unit to work harder to keep your home comfortable. Adding insulation to the roof, walls, and underbelly help combat this issue, particularly if you own an older manufactured home that has never had adequate insulation. You can even go a step further and install insulated skirting to your home’s exterior.
Check Your HVAC System
Over time, your manufactured home’s HVAC system will accumulate dust, pet hair, and other debris, leading it to work inefficiently. In addition to regularly changing your AC air filter, you can vacuum your vent ducts to ensure proper airflow or engage the services of a professional HVAC company to perform routine maintenance.
Improve Your Lighting
A quick way to lower your electricity bill is to switch your manufactured home’s incandescent light bulbs to LED (light-emitting diodes), which can significantly increase your home’s energy efficiency while saving you money. According to the Department of Energy, lighting accounts for about 15% of the average US home’s electricity use, and switching to LED bulbs saves around $225 in energy costs annually. An added benefit is that they last longer and don’t need to be replaced as often as incandescent bulbs.
Install Energy-Efficient Doors and Windows
Windows and doors are the biggest offenders for heat loss at your manufactured home. Today’s Energy Star certified windows are double, triple, or quadruple glazed for maximum insulation, and they reduce outside noise, condensation, and mold growth on your window frames. Similarly, installing fiberglass or insulated steel doors to your manufactured home and ensuring a tight fit helps keep your energy efficiency high and your utility bill low.
Think About Solar
It may sound impossible to install solar panels on the roof of a manufactured home, but some systems are lightweight enough that you can do just that. After the initial cost of buying and installing the system, you will save money on your energy bill because you will generate your own clean electricity.
Upgrade Your Appliances
Your manufactured home’s appliances are another drain on your home’s energy efficiency and culprit of a higher utility bill. If you are using old appliances, not only do they not operate as well as newer models, they are also more expensive to repair. Switching to Energy Star appliances helps your home expend significantly less energy each year while saving you money.
Prestige Is Your Trusted Manufactured Home Partner
These are just a few of the ways you can lower your manufactured home’s monthly utility bill while also increasing its energy efficiency and your family’s comfortability. For more guidance on manufactured homeownership or to invest in a new manufactured home, contact your trusted team at Prestige Home Centers today.