Twenty-five percent of all mobile homes in the province is located in the north according to BC Hydro.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, which includes Prince George, has 4225 of these units.
However, spokesperson, Dave Conway told Vista Radio the current design of mobile homes often leads to much higher electricity costs.
“The average mobile home square footage is the equivalent to an apartment building or condo but it has the energy usage of a duplex or a townhouse.”
“So, the energy consumption is about 50% higher and the problem is that there are limited options based on the construction of mobile homes and that limits their steps in what they can do to limit their energy consumption.”
Conway continued to explain why mobile homes remain popular in places like PG despite the higher costs.
“A mobile home is an option for people and there are locations or pads where you can where you put them on throughout Northern BC or in the immediate Prince George-area and in a lot of cases, it’s an option that is more affordable and fits with the lifestyle they choose.”
Over 70-thousand BC Hydro customers live in mobile homes, which is one of the largest concentrations in Canada.
About 20% of mobile homeowners use portable space heaters, which often have unreliable thermostats, leading to overheating.
“Mobile homes often have inefficient heating and cooling systems and in a lot of cases, these systems are outdated. They are using other options such as portable heating sources, which is one of the most expensive ways to use the heat,” added Conway.
Approximately 85% of all mobile home users open windows at least some of the time to help regulate temperature swings in their homes.
The crown corporation offered several tips to mobile home customers to help save time and money including:
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