PILOT PROGRAM

New Manufactured Homes

About the Pilot

The New Manufactured Homes (NMH) Pilot was created to help more people in Wisconsin buy energy efficient manufactured homes. Our goal was to expand residential new construction offerings so new manufactured homes meeting national, above code standards could qualify for incentives. These standards are higher than the federal HUD code, which has guided manufactured housing since 1976. The Pilot provided financial incentives to encourage retailers and manufactured home communities to choose homes with better energy performance, lowering energy waste and helping homeowners save money.

Timeline: January 2024-December 2025
Customer Segment: Residential

Interior of a large warehouse under construction with wooden framing, scattered lumber, pallets on the left, and a yellow forklift in the distance.

Pilot Objectives

Fill Gaps in Current Programs: Make new manufactured homes eligible for Focus on Energy rebates if they meet approved above-code certifications and are served by participating utilities.
Increase Use of High-Efficiency Homes: Encourage manufactured homes retailers and community owners to buy and sell homes that meet certified energy-efficiency standards by highlighting their benefits and offering financial incentives.
Reach More of the Market: Wisconsin places about 800 new manufactured homes each year. The Pilot aimed to work with the state's 63 distributors and communities to increase overall program impact.

Key Outcomes

The Pilot partnered with 22 retailers and community owners. Out of these, 18 submitted reservations for at least one ENERGY STAR® or DOE Zero Energy Ready certified home. In total, 237 homes participated in the Pilot.

Over $320,000 in incentives were paid, averaging $1,350 per certified home. One community owner enrolled 99 homes and received $148,500 in total incentives.

Lessons Learned

Building Strong Partnerships: Working with groups like the Wisconsin Housing Alliance helped the Pilot connect with more retailers and community owners and share the benefits of high efficiency homes.
Challenges with Participation: Even with partnerships and incentives, it was difficult to convince many retailers and community owners to change their construction or purchasing practices to adopt more energy efficient homes.

Recommendations and Next Steps

The Pilot will not continue because overall participation fell short of expectations. Future programs could focus on retailers who are not yet purchasing above code homes to ensure resources drive meaningful improvements.

Questions?

Contact the Future Focus team at futurefocus@focusonenergy.com.