Flaunt It If You've Got It!

by Shawn P. Mullins

How might homebuyer's priorities change if we were able to demonstrate the dollar-by-dollar payback of energy-efficient manufactured homes?

Accentuating one's attributes has been a successfully used strategy since the beginning of time. There is a reason that "sex sells." It sells because it takes advantage of our inner nature and desires. Now while that is not the particular angle of this piece, it does prove the point regarding the inherent value in selling from our strengths. Whether it is applied for personal or business situations, we must take advantage of every asset at our disposal. In economies such as this current one, the businesses that not only survive, but flourish, are the ones who find some unique way to connect with their customers. Whether that is via some catchy advertising slogan, a unique product niche or undeterred customer loyalty, there has to be something about what we sell that offers the average Joe more than our competitors. In this context, I would label our competitors as site-built housing.

How do we differentiate ourselves, then? Both of us build homes with all the appropriate living spaces, amenities, decors and creature comforts that our society has come to expect. Depending on the circumstances, we both can offer competitive financing (yeah, I know, that one is loaded) and these days even the site-built homes do a pretty good job at competing on price point. One area we have always struggled in, though, is the general perception of our product as being sub-standard to site-built homes. Those of us in the industry know this is not the case, but what do we have at our disposal to demonstrate this? What do we offer that site-built simply does not offer, at least from an across-the-board perspective?

The answer is energy efficiency. You've heard this from me before, but it bears repeating and elaborating on. The very nature of our production process eliminates many of the potential problems so prevalent in site-built housing. Some examples include:

1. Wall Construction and Insulation Installation: Our walls are built on a flat jig such that insulation is more easily installed and, therefore, easier to install correctly. There is less chance of the insulation sagging or gapping while it is secured to the wall studs. This, in turn, creates less opportunity for voids in the wall insulation……a big no-no in the energy compliance arena.

Here's an example of what NOT to do. Dark areas are insulation voids.

2. Ceiling assembly: Again using a jig, we typically lay out our ceiling board, attach our roof trusses and then lift and set our roof on top of the walls. In doing so, we practically guarantee a continuous thermal boundary at the ceiling plane because we don't have any "attic knee walls" or other interior-to-attic transitions to be concerned with. This is a very common problem in site-built housing for both finished attic spaces and at plant shelves or other drop-down ceiling areas. See the diagram below for a visual representation of what a complete thermal and air boundary should look like.

Diagram courtesy of www.thermalhouse.com

3. Tight construction: One of the biggest challenges in energy efficiency is getting the entire building enclosure to be "tight." By this I mean that there are minimal areas for air penetration. Because we build our homes to withstand the forces of shipping and transportation, we inherently create stronger and more rigid assemblies. We do this through both chemical (glues and adhesives) and mechanical (staples, nails, screws) fastening. Just about any penetration gap is also caulked or otherwise sealed, and often times you will find manufacturers sealing their wall plates to the floor and roof assemblies. Additionally, because our walls are framed and first sided with the wall covering before setting the walls, we eliminate many of the exterior-wall-to-interior-air-communication often found in a site-built home. A great example of this is behind a tub. Site-builders frame the walls, install the tubs and then cover the wall with interior finish material. The lack of any type of air barrier behind the tub now allows for both air infiltration and air movement within the cavity. This allows for hot and cold air transfer, which then affects a home's heating and cooling costs. Our process, in the simplest of terms, creates a much tighter building envelope overall.

4. In-house Quality Control: Because we are responsible for all facets of a home's construction, our quality control is typically better than that of a site-built developer who is sub-contracting the work to numerous crews. Often times the problems found with site-built housing audits is not a general lack of knowledge, but a lack of quality control. If it isn't specifically REQUIRED for the building code in use, it may very well never get enforced. Even if it is required, local building inspectors are spread thin and can miss a lot. Our factories are inspected very rigorously and because of this, our Quality Assurance systems are designed to withstand the added scrutiny. Our people get used to doing things the correct way and they become experts at their particular task(s). All around, it is simply a better system.

So by now, I hope I have at least made a case for manufactured housing's ability to be more energy efficient than a typical site-built home. Does this mean that the average buyer will all of a sudden "see the light" and beat a path to our doors? Not likely. Why is that? This is because the average buyer reacts to what they can see and touch. Specifically, amenities such as granite countertops, hardwood flooring, fancy decors, etc. Anecdotal evidence indicates that most buyers will initially be more willing to spend their option dollars on these types of amenities vs. energy efficiency features. This reality requires a more dollars-and-cents type approach on our part in order to educate the customer and thereby increase sales and our industry's reputation at the same time.

Everyone understands the power of the almighty dollar. What we need to do is make clear to the buying public the stark reality of exactly how much money they are literally throwing out the window when they choose not to pursue energy efficient construction. Following P&I, energy costs are the highest portion of a homeowner's operation and maintenance costs in owning a home. The adjacent graphic is from a recent article highlighting the attractiveness of energy efficient mortgages (http://www.grist.org/article/2010-08-18-bennet-bill-would-make-energy-efficient-mortgages-mainstream/). When you consider a dominantly cold or hot climate, I would argue that the disparity between energy costs and other maintenance costs is even higher.

How many potential home buyers are even aware of the significance of these facts? How might their priorities change if we were able to demonstrate the dollar-by-dollar payback of installing more energy efficient building processes into their new home? The mechanisms currently exist to do just that. In my last article, I touched on Energy Star for new homes, Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) and HERS ratings. Having been through the certification process, I can tell you with great certainty that the vast majority of manufactured houses built today are only a few small steps away from being Energy Star certified. The Energy Star website has loads of data to substantiate the savings that homeowners would pocket by purchasing an Energy Star home vs. a non-Energy Star home. To save even more money, our buyers could opt for an energy efficient mortgage wherein the energy efficiency construction of their home is verified by a HERS rating and they benefit from greater loan amount qualifications without any increase in loan interest, down payment, or qualifying ratios. There are often state and federal incentives for energy efficient home purchases as well. In fact, in the article referenced above, there is even a mention of a potential move to require all federally-backed mortgages to utilize an energy-efficient mortgage, and thus an energy rating in order to verify the increased energy efficiency and lower operating costs of the home.

While there exists plenty of anecdotal evidence regarding the savings from energy efficient construction, what we really need to do is spend some time developing brochures and other collateral that we can provide our customers showing these comparisons in concrete dollar amounts. One such idea might be to demonstrate the costs savings on two identical homes. A possible approach to providing credible numbers for such a scenario could be to have a HERS rating or similar energy modeling calculation performed from plans of the proposed home. These types of energy modeling calculations can be tailored to any geographic location and include a specific utility's rate structure as well. Therefore, our customers will have something credible from which to make their buying decisions. We would be able to demonstrate the true return on investment and other financial metrics related to making responsible, energy efficient decisions during the purchasing process. By utilizing an EEM strategy, the buyer can potentially buy more house for their dollar as well. Can you imagine the possibilities? Personally, I see several ways to build on this approach and all for minimal expense to our businesses. It's a win for us and a win for our customers. So I must ask if we aren't stepping over dollar bills to save pennies and, in the process, sitting idle only to watch a much smaller pool of buyers pass us by. ##

Shawn P. Mullins has worked in the manufactured buildings industry for over 22 years. Over the course of his career he has held various leadership posts including: Engineering support and management, Estimating Management, and Operational support positions. His product experience covers a wide spectrum including: HUD, IRC, international and man camps, ANSI, light commercial, etc. Mr. Mullins currently holds a BSBA/Operations Management degree and is currently pursuing a MBA with a focus in Project Management. Industry-held positions include Board of Directors, and Government Relations & Zoning Committee membership for the Arizona Housing Association. Other industry-related pursuits include Owner & Principal Managing Member of Earthwise Engineering LLC, an energy-efficient design, consulting, and HERS rating company. Mr. Mullins welcomes comments, feedback to his articles and industry connections via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.earthwise-engineering.com.