Resolution in Support of DOE’s Efforts to Establish Standards for Energy Efficiency in Manufactured Housing

WHEREAS, Manufactured housing comprises nearly 20 percent of all housing in rural areas of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Low-income families continue to dominate the market for manufactured housing; and

WHEREAS, The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to establish standards for energy efficiency in manufactured housing by December 2011; and

WHEREAS, Current minimum standards for manufactured housing construction in the United States are deficient with respect to thermal construction and space-conditioning requirements; and

WHEREAS, Improvements in thermal standards and space-conditioning requirements are likely to result in net savings, within a reasonable period of time, to purchasers of manufactured housing; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), convened at its 2008 Summer Meetings in Portland, Oregon, encourages DOE to endeavor to publish its proposed energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing well before the deadline set by Congress; and be it further

RESOLVED, That NARUC supports the adoption of energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing that are essentially equal to the standards in place for site-built houses, taking into consideration differences in regional climate conditions; and be it further

RESOLVED, That producers of manufactured housing are encouraged to adopt voluntarily, and as soon as practicable, energy efficiency standards equal to site-built housing.

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Sponsored by the Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment
Adopted by the Board of Directors on July 23, 2008