Electric Infrastructure Upgrades Alternatives Study for Manufactured Housing

The project team conducted a pilot demonstration to assess viability of intelligent power management technologies (IPMTs) (e.g., smart electrical panels, smart circuit breakers/relays) to facilitate electrification in mobile and manufactured housing with limitations in both customer-side and utility-side electric infrastructure. Existing electrical systems in many mobile and manufactured housing communities were not designed for widespread electrification, making conventional service upsizing costly and difficult. The pilot findings suggest that localized solutions such as IPMTs can help homeowners electrify their homes while avoiding or deferring significant infrastructure investments, benefiting both residents and utilities. While IPMTs are commercially available today, there is limited deployment due to inexperience with the technologies by contractors and local permitting authorities. The project team addressed this barrier by working with a qualified, local electrician to install IPMTs at eight homes in a mobile and manufactured housing community and to secure approval from permitting officials that IPMTs can meet the electric code and enable the electrification of one or more end uses. Across a range of electric end uses, the pilot results indicate that electric demand is unlikely to require additional electrical service, while IPMTs can meet code requirements and create flexibility that supports electrification even when 200 A service is unavailable. By demonstrating the ability of IPMTs to control electrical loads within existing electrical service constraints, this project provides a pathway to facilitate decarbonization in a key segment of naturally occurring affordable housing while demonstrating the value of IPMTs as a safe and effective alternative solution to more expensive electrical infrastructure upgrades. Recommendations and opportunities resulting from this pilot include developing program supports and education materials for residents, local permitting officials, and contractors on the application of IPMTs where electrical service is constrained.