4 Steps to Include California’s Manufactured Homes in the Transition to Clean Energy
Manufactured homes provide affordable housing for more than one million Californians, yet they disproportionately rely on fossil fuel heating. Expanding access to electrification is a matter of climate action, public health, and housing justice.
For years, California has been a leader at investing in healthy, zero-emission homes. However, barriers still exist for electrifying the state’s manufactured home, or mobile home, sector. These barriers must be addressed to ensure that manufactured homes are not left behind in California’s broader efforts to phase out fossil fuels and meet carbon neutrality goals by 2045.
Manufactured homes, which provide affordable housing for more than one million Californians—many of whom are low- or moderate-income—rely disproportionately on outdated and inefficient fossil fuel systems for heating, cooking, and water heating. As a result, these homes contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions while burdening residents with high energy costs and poor air quality.
Manufactured homes offer a powerful decarbonization opportunity—with models showing high-potential greenhouse gas savings, financial efficiency per home, and markedly improved health outcomes for at-risk populations. Their inherent affordability and factory-built nature make electrification interventions more scalable and cost-effective per unit of carbon abated. Targeting this sector could deliver outsize wins in climate mitigation, equity, energy burden reduction, and public health—all while advancing California’s climate and housing justice goals.
The manufactured home sector has massive decarbonization potential. For example, a study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings estimates that manufactured housing accounts for roughly 10 percent of new housing production, with average purchase prices significantly lower than site-built homes—making them an ideal sector for scaled electrification. The same year, as part of a multi-year study, three prototype zero-net energy manufactured homes in California—built with factory-installed heat pumps, solar PV, insulation, smart controls, and electric appliances—showed strong performance and scalability.
Burning propane, gas, or wood in manufactured homes emits harmful pollutants—such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide—which are strongly linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease, and reduced lung function. Residential fossil fuel use is a major contributor to air pollution–related health impacts, with national health care costs estimated between $361 billion and $886 billion annually. Manufactured home residents, who are often among the most energy insecure, face heightened exposure to these pollutants.
By transitioning manufactured homes to clean, all-electric systems, California can address these pressing environmental, economic, and public health challenges. Legislators have already begun efforts to solve this problem, but more work remains. Here are four steps that California can take to ensure manufactured homes are not left behind in the clean energy transition.
1. Allow for placement of heat pumps outside of homes
One key barrier to electrifying manufactured homes is space constraints inside the home that make it difficult to install a heat pump. Due to limited space inside manufactured homes, residents may wish to place a heat pump in a separate enclosure outside of their homes. However, current state regulations prohibit locating heat pumps outside of homes. Amending state regulations to allow for the placement of heat pumps outside of homes would remove a key barrier to electrifying these homes.
In 2024, California State Senator Josh Becker introduced a bill, the Cozy Homes Cleanup Act (Senate Bill 1095), to allow residents of manufactured homes to install a heat pump in a separate enclosure outside of their homes. In November 2024, this bill died in committee without further action. If it had been voted into law, SB 1095 would have helped to overcome a key barrier to electrifying manufactured housing.
Policies such as SB 1095 offer a clear pathway for advancing building decarbonization in the manufactured homes sector. By revisiting this type of legislation, California can extend climate and clean energy benefits to a historically overlooked segment of the housing market.
2. Neighborhood-scale electrification in mobile home parks
Santa Nella is an unincorporated community in central California with a high number of manufactured homes. When PG&E took over utility service for Santa Nella in 2022, there was a debate as to whether to upgrade the aging gas pipelines, electrical infrastructure, or both. In 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission directed PG&E to upgrade both. Although manufactured home residents in Santa Nella were given the opportunity to opt in to full electrification, there were redundant investments in the gas system.
California should authorize pilot programs that enable neighborhood-scale electrification of manufactured home communities, or mobile home parks. Senate Bill 1221 provides a model for avoiding costly gas pipeline replacements and redirecting spending toward electrification and non-pipeline alternatives. Neighborhood-scale electrification can avoid the inefficiencies of upgrading both the gas and electrical systems and save customers money while delivering clean and healthy electric appliances.
3. Up-front cash incentives for efficient, electric-ready manufactured homes
Up-front cash incentives help make it more affordable for families to purchase and invest in efficient, electric-ready manufactured homes—an essential step given the vital role that these homes play in California’s affordable housing landscape. The programs outlined below are a strong start in shifting the market toward clean, high-performing manufactured homes.
Currently, California has the California Electric Homes Program (CalEHP), which offers cash incentives for new, all-electric residential buildings, including manufactured homes. The CalEHP is administered by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and provides base incentives of $5,500 per unit, or $6,000 for units in disadvantaged communities (DAC) or hard-to-reach (HTR) areas. This program also offers cash incentives for mechanical package upgrades and Energy Star certification.
Oregon and Washington are states that offer cash incentives for buying efficient, electric-ready manufactured home units. One of the best models is the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and its utility partners, which offer up to $7,000 for the purchase of a NEEM+ certified manufactured home. NEEM+ homes go beyond Energy Star standards, offering superior insulation, efficient electric systems, and lower utility bills. In Oregon, residents can access up to $35,000 to replace older manufactured homes with new, efficient models; these funds help with site preparation and utility hookups. Similarly, in Washington State, residents in rural or Tribal communities may qualify for grants or rebates through the state’s Energy Efficiency grant program, with local utilities often offering additional incentives.
While these incentives support purchasing new manufactured homes, we must also ensure that financing gaps do not leave existing manufactured home residents behind, especially when it comes to retrofitting older units. A truly equitable clean energy transition requires sustained investment in both new construction and the upgrades needed to bring aging manufactured homes into the modern, electric-ready future.
The Mobile Home Initiative program, run by the utility provider Ameren Illinois, offers free home energy assessments and potentially free home appliance upgrades for income-qualified manufactured home residents. Programs like this one in Illinois play a critical role in expanding access to clean, zero-emission appliances.
Expanding up-front cash incentives and appliance replacement programs in California will ensure that the transition to efficient and electric manufactured homes is affordable for all manufactured home residents.
4. Improved data collection
Manufactured homes are a critical piece of California’s affordable housing puzzle, yet they remain one of the most misunderstood and undercounted segments of the housing stock. Data collection of these homes is often patchy across regions, resulting in an incomplete and potentially misleading picture of regional housing dynamics. The ambiguity in the correct number of existing units leads to equity, policy, and advocacy problems when trying to identify solutions.
Manufactured housing data is collected by a patchwork of different entities—including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and a mix of state agencies, counties, and localities. However, current reporting practices often mean that some units fall through the cracks. The U.S. Census often skips unregistered homes or informal settlements, and local enforcement and reporting practices may vary.
To solve this problem, California should fund a dedicated effort to map and document all manufactured housing, especially in unincorporated and rural areas. By integrating manufactured units permitting records, Housing and Community Development registration data, local and county land use records, and utility service connection data, as well as working with community-based-organizations to collect housing data, we can get a more accurate picture of where manufactured homes exist and where they are being overlooked.
Conclusion
Electrifying manufactured homes is not only an environmental imperative but also a matter of equity and justice. These communities, often located in rural and underserved areas, have long been considered hard-to-reach customers, resulting in underinvestment of energy efficiency and clean energy programs.
Historically, manufactured housing communities have been excluded from public processes and planning decisions because they are often dismissed as less important than other housing types. This stigma can influence zoning decisions, funding allocations, and public attitudes, while leaving many residents unaware of their rights, available resources, or how to advocate for improvements in their living conditions. Additionally, public understanding of manufactured home communities is limited, often shaped by outdated stereotypes or simply a lack of visibility.
Legislators must advance policies that prioritize up-front financial incentives for efficient and electric-ready manufactured homes, develop targeted retrofit or replacement programs for older units, and dedicate funding streams for infrastructure upgrades in these communities. This includes legislation aimed at manufactured home appliance replacement, siting flexibility, and program eligibility reforms—initiatives that are urgently needed.
By allowing for the placement of heat pumps outside of homes, authorizing neighborhood-scale electrification in mobile home parks, expanding up-front cash incentives, and improving data collection, California can advance its commitment to an equitable clean energy transition, ensuring that all residents—regardless of income or housing type—benefit from a cleaner, healthier, and more affordable energy future.
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