BAIHP Annual Report - UCFIE Technical Assistance

Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership BAIHP - Conducted by FSEC

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Reference Publication: Chandra, Subrato, Neil Moyer, Danny Parker, David Beal, David Chasar, Eric Martin, Janet McIlvaine, Ross McCluney, Andrew Gordon, Mike Lubliner, Mike McSorley, Ken Fonorow, Mike Mullens, Mark McGinley, Stephanie Hutchinson, David Hoak, and Linda Tozer. Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership, Annual Report - Fourth Budget Period. 04/01/03-03/31/04.

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Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership, Annual Report - Fourth Budget Period

Subrato Chandra, Neil Moyer, Danny Parker, David Beal, David Chasar, Eric Martin, Janet McIlvaine, Ross McCluney, Andrew Gordon, Mike Lubliner, Mike McSorley, Ken Fonorow, Mike Mullens, Mark McGinley, Stephanie Hutchinson, David Hoak, and Linda Tozer

Florida Solar Energy Center

1.3 UCFIE Technical Assistance

Engineering researchers from the UCF Housing Constructability Lab (HCL) have concentrated on the application of lean principles to homebuilding. Research areas include: energy design/analysis/testing, modular factory design, shop floor information systems, and precast concrete panel production.

Building America Hickory Consortium

The Housing Constructability Lab research team performs related research for the Building America Hickory Consortium. This research is focused in two areas: (1) developing practical quality systems that can be used in the modular factory, and (2) improving the modular builder's construction site finish process.

Energy Design, Analysis, and Testing

Energy Performance Benchmarking Study: Energy performance affects homebuyers, impacting their health, safety, home durability, comfort, and energy costs. To increase the visibility of energy performance within the modular industry, HCL devoted considerable effort in 2002 to developing the thesis that energy performance is a key quality measure of modular housing. Initiating an industry-wide energy benchmarking effort, HCL measured and compared energy performance for selected modular manufacturers both inside and outside the modular industry. Findings of this effort were summarized in a report distributed to each participating manufacturer which documented the performance of each home tested and outlined a cost-effective approach to upgrade the home to Energy Star performance levels.

Energy testing began in March 2002 and continued through this reporting period. Twenty homes produced by five of the largest modular manufacturers were tested. The manufacturers included: All American Homes (North Carolina), Avis America Homes (Pennsylvania), General Homes (Michigan), Nationwide Homes (Georgia), and Penn Lyon Homes (Pennsylvania). Each home was tested for envelope and duct air-tightness and inspected to identify specific opportunities for improvement. Houseplans were redlined during the visits to reflect "as-built" configurations.

Two of the twenty homes tested achieved Energy Star performance levels, exceeding the minimum HERS rating of 86. This represents at least a 30% improvement over a comparable home built to the Model Energy Code. The average HERS rating for tested homes was 81.5.

The overall energy performance of the homes tested, stated as HERS ratings, are summarized in Figure 20. All ratings were developed using Energy Gauge USA software.

Figure 20. Overall energy efficiency of homes tested.

Figure 21. Air-tightness of homes tested.

Blower door test results indicating the air-tightness of the building envelope are summarized in Figure 21. ACH50 is the number of air changes per hour when the home is depressurized to -50 Pascals. The average for the homes tested, 7.5 ACH50, is significantly better than the 11 ACH50 average for new home construction in the continental US (Sherman and Dickerhoff, 1998). While better than the national average, most homes tested were still not as tight as homes generally considered energy efficient (6 ACH50).

Ductblaster test results which indicate duct tightness are summarized in Figure 22, below. The metric Q_n is a normalized measure of duct leakage from unconditioned space when the ducts are depressurized to -25 Pascals. The average leakage for the homes tested, .12 Q_n, is greater than that allowed by the new California energy code, .06 Q_n, and significantly greater than for homes generally considered energy efficient, .03 Q_n. Energy analyses indicated that most homes tested could reach Energy Star levels simply by tightening the envelope and ducts and by adding a programmable thermostat. However, some homes required more extensive improvement to qualify, like additional duct insulation or more efficient heating and cooling systems. No comparable data has been found for other segments of the housing industry.

Figure 22. Duct tightness of homes tested.

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Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.