Smart Investment

Breaking It Down

The first example above shows a home where the NEEM ENERGY STAR certification option adds $2,400 to the purchase price. If the home is purchased with a conventional mortgage at 5 percent interest, the monthly payment for that $2,400 is $12.80. Averaged over a year, the energy savings from the ENERGY STAR package will be $38 per month, which more than offsets the additional mortgage payment. In fact, you are essentially earning an 8 percent return on the bank's money!

It gets better. The NEEM team has worked with builders in the Pacific Northwest to develop a package that delivers even more energy savings than is achieve with ENERGY STAR alone. We call it ENERGY STAR with NEEM+. To help launch this new high performance home specification, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance is providing a $500 incentive to the factory to help make the NEEM+ package even more attractive. The second example above shows how investing in the ENERGY STAR with NEEM+ package delivers even more savings for you.

What other investments can deliver this kind of proven return, contribute to a healthy environment AND make your home more comfortable at the same time? If your local electric utility is offering purchase incentives for NEEM’s ENERGY STAR certification, your return on investment goes through the roof!

The fine print: the above examples compare NEEM-certified homes to code minimum manufactured home construction. The examples assume a 1,500 sq. ft. home with a conventional mortgage at 5% APR and 20% down payment. Electricity rates are $0.10/kWh, with an annual escalation of 1%. The value of ENERGY STAR at resale in 10 yrs adds $2,000, and NEEM+ adds another $500. The NEEM+ package pricing includes a limited time $1,000 incentive paid directly to the factory. Annual energy savings estimates of 4,500 kWh for ENERGY STAR and 6,500 kWh for NEEM+ come from peer reviewed modeling by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Regional Technical Forum with minimum code insulation substituted for RTF baseline values--your results may vary.

Rebate Low-Down

The NEEM Program delivers proven cost-effective energy savings. That's why the majority of electric utilities throughout the Pacific Northwest offer rebates for their customers who choose ENERGY STAR certification through the NEEM Program when they buy a new manufactured home. Some utilities are already recognizing the added savings from the NEEM+ specifications and are offering increased incentives for homes with this package. The incentives for ENERGY STAR can be up to $1,200 and NEEM+ can bring the amount up to $1,400, depending upon the utility. Be sure to check the NEEM Program's Utility Support and Participation List in our Resources section to see if your utility has incentives available. Or, try our Rebate Finder tool to search for your utility by Zip code.

Doubling Down With a Heat Pump

The NEEM program works to make sure that ENERGY STAR certified homes leave the production facility with energy efficiency and durability features installed right and working properly. But, the story doesn't end there. The heating system that most often comes with a manufactured home is a central electric forced air furnace. It can do the job of heating the home, but the furnace really shines when it is combined with a heat pump. The heat pump can more than double the energy efficiency of the furnace, and it operates as an air conditioner to provide summer cooling. Heating bills cut in half, PLUS summer cooling? When you can include the heat pump in the home finance package you have another solid investment that actually does something good for you every day.

Heat pumps come as central units that connect up to the electric or gas furnace and use the home's duct system to provide central heating and cooling. They also come as super energy-efficient ductless mini-split systems that have one or more indoor head units that condition the room air directly. When such ductless systems are put in a highly energy-efficient home, one indoor head can effectively heat the entire home in all but the most extreme weather. The electric furnace can pitch in during the coldest spells, or during regular short periods like morning wake up times or when you just want a quick shot of extra warmth. The ductless heat pump is a high performance piece of equipment that works particularly well if you live in an area without need for a lot of summer cooling.

Check out our Resources section to learn more. Our Heat Pump Factsheet explains how heat pumps work, and our Heat Pump Comparison Table can help you decide which type of heat pump system is best for you.