1.2  WSU Technical Assistance

The Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program, together with partners (and subcontractors) Oregon Office of Energy and Idaho Department of Water Resources Energy Division, provides technical and research support to the Super Good Cents/Natural Choice/Energy Star Program (SGC/NC/E-Star) in the Pacific Northwest.  The SGC/NC/E-Star program involves 20 manufactured housing plants in three states with plant energy decisions affecting hundreds of retailers and thousands of homebuyers. 

To date, 14,307 homes have been produced with technical assistance from BAIHP.  By the end of 2002, all 20 manufacturers had signed Energy Star partnership agreements.  As a result, 4,411 homes received the Energy Star designation. BAIHP staff continue to work toward increasing awareness within the manufactured housing industry of the value of energy efficiency marketing, increased utility participation in incentive programs, and promotion of SGC/NC co-branding with Energy Star. 

The SGC/NC/E-Star Program includes numerous activities: Figure 12 shows, by program year, the number of homes produced with technical assistance from BAIHP and  the number of homes submitted for Energy Star designation by BAIHP staff.

Figure 12.  Homes produced with technical assistance from BAIHP, plus BAIHP homes submitted for Energy Star designation.

• Blown Cellulose Floor Insulation

Industry partner Engineered for Life (formerly Greenstone) has been working with SGC/NC/E-STAR manufacturers to validate a hybrid insulation system composed of one R-11 belly blanket, plus R-22 blown cellulose insulation.  The goal is to optimize installed R-value and minimize material and labor costs.  The hybrid system, which eliminates over-compression and reduces the chance of leakage during transport and setup, was adopted by Fleetwood Homes of Washington in 2001.  One potential consequence of using the hybrid system is increased moisture in the belly.  In 2003, BAIHP staff will work with Fleetwood plant staff to install dataloggers in several homes to determine if this additional moisture poses a problem.

• Demonstration Homes

 Technical support was provided for the following demonstration homes:

Figure 13.  WSU Energy House in Olympia, Washington9.

WSU Energy House: This 2600 ft² home has been built beyond SGC standards, and incorporates Energy Star lighting and appliances. (Please see Figure 13.) The home has received significant national exposure through tours, an article in the Automated Builder magazine, a WSU campus and alumni newsletter, and the BAIHP website.  In addition, BAIHP staff provided a tour to KING 5 News of Seattle, which led to a television news item demonstrating Energy Star lighting and duct sealing.  BAIHP staff use the house to appraise additional innovative technologies and testing methods. 

The WSU Energy House has been monitored since 2000.  Collected monitoring data includes weather, temperature, humidity, CO₂, CO, and eight differential pressures.   Energy use data is being collected for water heating, laundry, fireplace, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC).  Monitoring results from the WSU Energy House have been presented to the building science, indoor air quality indoor air quality (IAQ) and HVAC research communities at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Air Infiltration and Ventilation Center (in the UK), HUD/National Institute of Standards and Technologies, National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), and Building Thermal Envelope Coordinating Council (BTECC).  Data is available at:  http://logger.fsec.ucf.edu/cgi-bin/wg40.exe?user=lubresidence.

Working with Ecotope, ASHRAE, and the Energy Conservancy, BAIHP staff conducted "Delta Q" and "nulling" duct leakage tests in 2001.  Follow up pressure tests and analysis of test data conducted in 2002, indicate these are effective methods of measuring duct leakage in manufactured homes, and may be included in the upgrades to the National Fire Protection Association-501 standards for manufactured homes.

Blower door and duct leakage testing indicate very tight ductwork -  2.4 ACH at 50 Pa and 61.6 CFM leakage to the outside at 50 Pa..  Tracer gas testing demonstrated that the use of a furnace-based intake damper does not change the leakage rate of the home.

Vincent Village: Vincent Village is a 49 home rental community located in Richland, Washington.  All of the homes are small, single section homes of the same size, facing roughly the same orientation.  The homes are heated and cooled by Insider heat pumps.  Half of the homes were built to SGC standards, the other half were not.  So, the development provides a unique opportunity to compare the energy use of both SGC versus non-SGC homes, and evaluate the long-term performance of the Insider heat pump.  Metered utility data indicate average yearly savings of $241 for the SGC homes.

Fish Facility:  Three SGC homes were built at the Nez Perce tribal fish facility in Cle Elum, Washington.  One of these homes is equipped with Energy Star appliances and lighting; all three homes are heated with Insider heat pumps.  Monitoring equipment was installed in 2001.  In 2002, preliminary blower door testing indicated a high leakage rate.  This year, tests found significant duct leakage due to butyl tape failure at risers on a two year old home.  During the next reporting period, BAIHP staff and Fuqua homes will reseal the ducts and measure the resulting improvements.

SIP House:  This home, located in Western Washington and constructed by Champion Homes, is the first stress skin insulated panel manufactured home.  Working with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to assess ventilation rates, house tightness was measured at 3.55 air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 Pa, tighter than all 49 SGC homes tested in 2000.  Energy savings were estimated at 50% greater than HUD code minimum.  These results will be presented in Year 5 at the ASHRAE Summer Meeting, authored by PNNL, with contributions from BAIHP staff.

Zero Energy Manufactured Home (ZEMH):  BPA, working with BAIHP staff in Idaho and Washington, provided funding for the most energy efficient manufactured home in the country.   (Please see Figure 14.)  An RFP for home construction was sent to 18 Northwest manufacturers and Kit Homes of Idaho was selected as the home manufacturer.  BAIHP staff also solicited 24 industry partners to provide energy efficient building components, including Icynene wall, floor and roof insulation, a low-cost HUD-approved solar system, sun-tempered solar design, and Energy Star^© windows, appliances, and lighting.  Partners include Building America team members Flexible Technologies, Icynene, and LaSalle.  The ZEMH was built in August along with a control home and was displayed at the 2002 Spokane County Interstate Fair before final siting at the Nez Perce tribal fish facility near Lewiston Idaho.  Blower door and duct leakage tests at the plant and on-site indicate that this is the tightest home ever tested by BAIHP staff.

Figure 14.  Zero Energy Manufactured Home at the Nez Perce Fish Hatchery, near Lewiston, ID.

Working with FSEC and BPA, WSU staff installed monitoring equipment for data collection in the upcoming year.

Figure 15.  Two story manufactured homes at Noji Gardens.

NOGI Gardens: Located in southeast Seattle, Nogi Gardens is a 75-home community which has drawn national attention for their two-story manufactured homes - blazing a trail for the HUD code home industry in urban, affordable housing.  The project also contains the first two-story, HUD code attached "townhouse homes."  (Please see Figure 15.) All homes were built by Marlette Homes in Hermiston, Oregon to SGC/NC/E-Star specifications.  A blower door test of the building envelope showed 5.0 ACH at 50Pa.  Duct leakage is very low, due to the mastic/riser system employed by Marlette.