Stop the Presses! The Government Wants to Help – In a Good Way

That truly was my call to the industry association this week, asking for the chance to pull back the article I had written on how to handle the ENERGY STAR changes that require heat pumps in homes starting in January. You might recall that I was predicting earlier in the year that we might see a delay in the new ENERGY STAR version 3 requirements. But, as September rolled on, I acknowledged that it was time to stop waiting and started taking the message to plants and home retailers that we needed to be prepared to meet the changes.

Sometimes it is wonderful to be wrong. Help came from a most unlikely place—the IRS. In their Notice 2023- 65, determined that ENERGY STAR version 2 will be the basis for the 45L Energy Efficient home tax credit that goes to factories building manufactured homes until the end of 2025. That means we have two more years to continue labeling homes as ENERGY STAR at the factory, without needing heat pumps or other added items.

Now, everyone needs to know that heat pumps, while wonderful and life-changing, are not something we have to hop onto immediately. This is still an excellent time to develop solid relationships with HVAC contractors and figure out how to make some money by including heat pumps in more home sales. To that end, the NEEM team has developed a heat pump fact sheet you might find useful. Expect an upcoming update from the NEEM team that covers heat pumps in greater depth.

The NEEM program will continue to encourage the Energy Star program to give “points” for our
additional energy efficiency measures that go above and beyond the national Energy Star program and are proven to save energy (duct and house tightness requirements, in-plant and in-field diagnostic testing for examples) so that homes can be built "heat pump ready" and certified as ENERGY STAR version 3 in the factories.

Thank you for your commitment to selling Energy Star certified homes. You can proudly say that NEEM homes are the most energy efficient manufactured homes in the country!