Energy Upgrades in Manufactured Homes

Time-limited promotion for heat pumps and ductless heat pumps could cut heating bills in half

As Central Oregonians start bundling up and turning up the dials on the thermostat, Energy Trust of Oregon, in partnership with local Trade Ally, Bend Heating, is turning up the savings and comfort with increased incentives for heating projects for eligible manufactured homes.

Increased incentives are available for Pacific Power customers who are replacing electric resistance and forced air heating systems with super-efficient heat pumps and ductless heat pumps in manufactured homes. For the duration of this promotion, which will run until March 31, 2019, the cash incentive for these systems will increase from $700-800 to $2,500-3,000 depending on the system installed. There are no income limitations for eligibility.

Heat pump technology is highly efficient and can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 50 percent or more. Rather than creating heat from scratch, heat pumps move heat. Even when temperatures dip to zero degrees, they pull residual heat out of the air and move it into your home. When running in air conditioning mode, they operate just like your refrigerator by moving warm air out of your home.

Energy Trust completed a competitive selection process to choose installation partners from their pool of qualified Trade Allies. These partners will also offer additional reductions in installation costs. As a result, manufactured homeowners could install an efficient new heating system with prices starting at $1,800, which is about 60 percent less than normal.

For Central Oregon, Bend Heating & Sheet Metal, Inc was selected to offer these increased incentives and has committed to offering discounted prices until the end of the promotion.

“We are so excited to be part of this program for manufactured homeowners. The initial study proved these systems are much more energy efficient than we even thought–cutting the heat bill in half, plus having air conditioning in the summer, is great and even more so with these generous cash incentives,” said Randall Marchington, HVAC Mechanical Estimator, for Bend Heating.

There are huge opportunities to reduce energy use in manufactured homes which usually have very high operating expenses. They typically use 70% more energy per square foot than single-family homes and represent 10% of all residential buildings in Oregon.

The Environmental Center is partnering with Bend Heating to help reach community members with information about this program because it can provide savings of hundreds of dollars a year and in some cases a month.

Participants of this special program are also encouraged to sign up for free LED light bulbs in order to further reduce their electricity bills. LED lighting uses 80% less energy than standard light bulbs.