Why a Manufactured Home?

Today’s manufactured homes are known for their energy efficiency.

Finding an energy saving home in SC is a positive experience. Not only are the homes easy to identify but they also qualify for special tax incentives. The buyer saves not only on their monthly power bill but also “up front” on the cost of the home.

You don’t have to be an engineer or a contractor to identify these homes, just look for these two designations.

Identifying homes that meet SC Energy Efficiency Standards

A home built to South Carolina’s Energy Efficiency Standards can be identified by the energy sticker in the breaker box.

These homes qualify for a $300 sales tax. Energy Efficient homes include features such as storm or double pane glass windows, insulated or storm doors and insulation levels of  R-30 for the roof, R-11 for walls and R-19 for the floor. The law allows for insulation “trade-offs” between the roof, walls and floors so long as the over efficiency level is the same.

The manufactured home retailer can show you which homes qualify. Only these homes qualify for the $300 sales tax incentive and you’ll see that information in the Purchase Agreement. They also have an Energy Efficiency label of the breaker box in the home.

Identifying Energy Star Manufactured Homes

An Energy Star home will come with a Site Installation Checklist.

Energy Star is the gold standard for energy efficiency in the United States.  The US Department of Energy set standards for high efficiency on everything from dishwashers to refrigerators to washers and dryers to heat pumps to roofing materials to ceiling fans. Imagine an entire home that qualifies for the Energy Star designation!

You’ll see on the paperwork that you are paying no sales tax on an Energy Star home. A home built to Energy Star standards will often be promoted under the company’s own designation such as Energy Wise or similar term. To qualify for the Energy Star incentive, that home must be also be installed on site with a specified “SEER” level and duct work insulation.

Each Energy Star home is shipped from the manufacturer with a Site Installation Checklist. The retailer will give you a copy. The use of this checklist is a key feature of Energy Star homes and the use of the Site Installation Checklist is a good way to be sure your homes has been built to — and installed to — Energy Star standards.

The History of Manufactured Homes and Energy Use

Energy efficiency standards for both factory-built and site-built homes have increased over the decades as Americans have become conscious of the need to conserve our nation’s natural resources. “Mobile homes,” the predecessor to modern-day manufactured homes, had a reputation for poor energy efficiency. Before 1976, factory-built homes were built to a variety of local and voluntary building standards. Some of those homes were highly efficient; others not so much.

1976 saw the implementation of a federal law, the Uniform Manufactured Home Construction and Standards Act. That was the year a nation-wide building code was implemented for the homes. Under federal law, homes built prior to the standards are designated as mobile homes. Home built from 1976 are correctly called manufactured homes.

Over the years the federal government has established energy standards for manufactured homes across the nation, but South Carolina has taken things several steps further with enhanced standards for high efficiency. The SC Energy Office, a state agency,  has won national awards for its progressive programs promoting energy efficiency in manufactured homes through money-saving tax incentives.