An examination of electricity consumption patterns in manufactured housing units

For several decades, manufactured housing has been a crucial source of affordable housing, particularly for rural areas. However, electricity consumption per unit area and per capita are substantially higher for manufactured housing units relative to site built, single-family detached units. This article uses data from the federal Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) to examine patterns of electricity consumption in manufactured housing units over time and to draw comparisons with single-family detached housing units. Regression analysis is used to model annual electricity consumption for manufactured housing units in 1990 and 2005. Temporal trends in key predictors are discussed and contrasted with those for single-family detached units. Findings suggest that the most important predictors of electricity consumption are comparable across the housing types considered and that while manufactured housing units may be gaining in energy efficiency over time, consumption per unit area and per capita are increasing faster than in single-family detached units.