A new Ithaca pilot program is helping mobile home residents reduce energy bills, improve home comfort, and transition to clean heating with high-efficiency heat pumps. Mobile homes typically use more energy than site-built housing and often rely on costly fuels like propane or electric resistance heating. As a result, many residents—especially seniors and low-income households—face a high energy burden, spending a disproportionate share of income on utilities.
These households include seniors, retirees, and immigrant families – notably members of the Karen refugee community in Dryden. This Ithaca pilot program directly targets these challenges by installing electric heat pumps, which provide both heating and cooling with significantly greater efficiency.
