Park home energy: all you need to know

Solar panels for park homes

One popular way to make your park home more energy efficient is by installing solar panels.

Park homes aren't unique in this – solar panels are appearing more and more across towns, fields and even campsites, with panels installed on motorhomes and campervans. While they're a significant upfront investment, solar panels can save you (and even make you) money in the long run.

The roofs on park homes are very different to traditional brick-built homes, so it’s important to have any installation done by a company with experience and specialist knowledge of park homes.

For more advice on solar panels for park homes, check out our complete guide to installing and maintaining them.

Park home insulation

As mentioned above, improving the insulation in older park homes is an effective way to make them more energy efficient.

Among the companies that offer specialist park home insulation services is Prestige Developments. The company’s Ultimate Cavity Wall service involves bringing exterior walls up to current BS 3632 build standards. Prestige Developments tells us that the materials used can reduce heating energy costs by up to 50% and virtually eliminate damp and condensation in cavity walls. In older park homes, constructed before current standards came into force, condensation and general dampness is acknowledged as a risk to the structure of the home if left without maintenance.

Prestige Developments says, “Substandard insulation can be the cause of these conditions and will certainly impact on your living comfort levels and your heating costs.”

Platinum Park Home Services offers an external wall insulation scheme that uses six layers and features thick grey graphite expanded polystyrene boards, topped with layers of reinforced glass fibre mesh, and render that sets hard.

Another major player is Park Home Doctors, whose walls, roof and underfloor insulation system uses aluminium layers to help reflect heat back into the park home, so keeping it warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Park home energy costs

Measures like adding insulation to an older park home – especially those that are more than 10 years old – is almost certain to reduce energy costs, in just the same way as extra insulation in any other type of home will help to cut fuel bills.

Lifesure, a specialist park home insurance company, tells us, “If your home has less than 10 inches of insulation, it may be time to add more. By doing so, you could see up to a 30% reduction in your energy bills.” Lifesure also advises owners of older park homes to consider installing energy-efficient windows made of glass that helps to reflect heat back into the home.

And it’s good to know that if you are considering a move to park home living, a survey has revealed that two-thirds of respondents said that their energy bills were less since moving from a bricks and mortar home. The survey, carried out by Quickmove Properties, a specialist in the park home market, also showed that more than half of the respondents estimated their energy bills were 30% lower in their new park home compared with their previous bricks and mortar home.

Energy-saving tips for park homes

Top of the list has to be installing added insulation and replacing windows with energy-efficient ones.

Obvious courses of action are avoiding leaving appliances on standby; turning the heating down or off in a room that you are not using; making sure you switch off lights in rooms that you are not using, and limiting the amount of water you boil in a kettle to the amount you actually need.

Perhaps less obvious – and not as convenient or appealing – is advice we found about not using tumble dryers, limiting the time you spend under the shower, and putting on an extra sweater instead of turning up the heating in cold weather.

The Warm Home Discount Scheme, a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill, for winter 2023 to 2024 is now closed and is scheduled to reopen in October 2024.

FAQs: Park home energy

Are park homes energy efficient?

Those built to today’s standards are highly energy efficient. However, that was not always the case. Park home build standards have risen exponentially since early park homes were built. So owners of older park homes may want to consider updating insulation in their park home.

Are park homes cold in winter?

No. Park homes built in recent years are not cold in winter. They are insulated to a high standard and so heat retention is of a high standard, too.

What are my rights if I am paying the park/site owner for energy rather than an energy company?

Ofgem tells us that the Maximum Resale Price (MRP) direction means that the park owner cannot make a profit from the energy it resells to residents. (Park home residents who buy energy through the park are either charged for the energy as part of their pitch fee, or via an energy bill from the park owner.)