A U.S. Department of Energy research team has recently developed and tested methods to reduce energy use in manufactured housing and the initial results show that it’s possible to increase energy efficiency by 50% with only nominal construction cost increases.
Coupled with the increased savings over time, this could be truly welcome news for homeowners looking to replace their homes.
As a test, the team, called the ARIES Collaborative, built three homes:
- House A built to the HUD standards was equipped with typical electric furnace and split system air conditioner and had climate region typical insulation levels;
- The ENERGY STAR house (House B) had enhanced insulation levels, low-E double paned windows and a conventional split system heat pump; and
- House C was a next-generation design that qualified for Zero Energy Ready Home designation and included a high efficiency, single point, ductless, mini-split heat pump with a transfer fan distribution system in place of the traditional duct system for distribution.
The homes were set together in Alabama so they were exposed to the same weather conditions.
Read more about this breakthrough here.