APPENDIX C
ANNUAL REPORT OF WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY ENERGY
PROGRAM (WSU) WITH OREGON OFFICE OF ENERGY, AND IDAHO
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, ENERGY DIVISION

April 1, 2003 – March 30, 2004

The Washington State University Energy Program (WSU), together with partners Oregon Office of Energy and Idaho Department of Water Resources, Energy Division, continue to provide technical and research support to the Northwest Energy Efficient Manufactured Housing Program (NEEM)/Energy Star program in the Pacific Northwest. The NEEM/Energy Star program involves 20 plants in three states, hundreds of retailers and thousands of homebuyers.

The NEEM program includes the brands Super Good Cents and Natural Choice, denoting homes heated respectively by electricity and Natural Gas/propane (note – NEEM staff are in the process of phasing out the Natural Choice brand, as it is no longer supported by natural gas utilities and regional propane associations. After Year 5, the Super Good Cents brand will denote both electric and gas heated homes.)

• Aligning with New Building America Goal

During Year 5, BAIHP staff performed a benchmarking evaluation, to assess the improvement of NEEM homes over the entire BAIHP project period. The benchmarking was based on a home defined by NREL (built to IECC requirements). The savings over the benchmark home were estimated using version 2.2 of Energy Gauge USA. Evaluations were performed for a typical 1600 ft 2 double wide home with 12% glazing to floor area (the NEEM fleet average) in three Pacific Northwest climate zones: Portland, OR; Spokane, WA; and Missoula MT.

The homes were benchmarked assuming a continuously operating whole house ventilation system, resulting in a significant thermal energy penalty. Additional benchmarking was also conducted using the 164 kWh/year ventilation assumption in the NREL benchmark, in an effort not to penalize the homes for improved IAQ associated with HUD whole house ventilation system requirements and ASHRAE 62.2.

In Year 5, improvements were made to NEEM HVAC systems and duct specifications as a result of BAIHP research (see Refinement of NEEM Specifications, below.) Additional benchmarking is presented that reflects 2004 improvements made to the NEEM duct specification.

The results of the benchmarking varies considerably by HVAC type, water heat and climate, as noted in Table 1 below. Some key observations:

• In all climate zones, electric homes result in negative savings if the ventilation penalty is assumed. This is largely the result of the assumption that the benchmark home has a heat pump that performs without installation problems; an assumption that will be evaluated by BAIHP research.
• Gas heated NEEM homes came closest to meeting the overall BAIHP goal of 40% over the NREL benchmark, but only met the goal if gas heat is paired with electric water heat.
• Eliminating the ventilation system penalty has a higher impact on benchmarking results (9 to 23 percentage points) than improved duct leakage tightness (3 to 11 percentage points).
• It should be noted that Benchmarking these NEEM homes against the HUD-FMCSS requirements (Uo=.079) for manufactured homes rather than the IECC (Uo=0.06) would yield considerably higher savings than current benchmark assumptions.

• Technical Assistance

Figure 1 shows, by program year, the number of homes produced with technical assistance from BAIHP, as well as the number of homes submitted for Energy Star designation by BAIHP staff, and the breakdown of homes by benchmarking score. Please note the following:

• The benchmarking includes the assumption, based on the random study (see Random Study, below) that 24% of all homes included after-market heat pumps.
• No benchmarking was performed for Years 1 and 2, due to a lack of accurate regional data.
• In Year 5, the appearance of homes that achieved a 30+% benchmark is the result of the improvements made to the NEEM HVAC specifications.

The continued success of the program is due to several factors. BAIHP and NEEM staff have worked to increase awareness within the manufactured housing industry of the marketing value of energy efficiency, increase participation by utilities in incentive programs, and promote the co-branding of NEEM with Energy Star.

The increase in Energy Star designations is due to refinement of the SGC duct sealing specifications, resolving a discrepancy between the SGC specifications with Energy Star’s duct sealing protocols; while this question was being resolved, BAIHP staff did not submit homes to DOE for Energy Star designation. In year 5, remaining discrepancies with manufacturers in Idaho were further resolved, allowing BAIHP staff to accurately report all qualifying homes.

SGC/E-STAR program activities include:

Refinement of SGC specifications: BAIHP staff continually work to refine the existing SGC specifications, a result in large part to innovative building technologies researched in BAIHP.

In Year 5, BAIHP staff worked with the NEEM team and individual manufacturers to develop revisions to NEEM specifications, including allowing only mastic for duct sealing, requiring metal flex duct for whole house ventilation fans, and changing the air infiltration specification from 7.0 ACH 50 to 5.0 ACH 50.

The revised specifications were voted on and accepted by the manufacturers; they took effect on January 1, 2004.

BAIHP staff continue to work with EPA and other regional partners on clarifying the equivalency of SGC with Energy Star. In Year 4, BAIHP staff developed a new Energy Star compliance path for climate zone 2 that does not require a heat pump. The non-heat pump path uses a heat recovery ventilation system, a .93 EF hot water heater and tighter ducts and envelope.

Revised In-plant Manual: In Year 5, in light of the revisions to the NEEM specifications, BAIHP staff from the Oregon Department of Energy developed an updated in-plant inspection manual, with new graphics, including details on correct installation of heat recovery ventilation. Many of the manual updates are the result of BAIHP research and demonstration efforts, including use of hybrid floor systems and proper duct sealing with mastic. The manual also now include a regionally consistent problem home inspection protocol.

SGC Random Home Testing: In 1994-1995 (prior to implementation of BAIHP), SGC staff conducted field testing of 178 SGC homes built in 1992-1993. In BAIHP Year 1, staff in Idaho and Washington field-tested 49 SGC homes built in 1997-98. In Year 2, analysis of field test data confirmed some improvements to home set-up procedures and air leakage control, while highlighting a need to improve duct tightness and ventilation system operation (through homeowner education.) In Year 3, BAIHP staff produced an updated homeowner ventilation brochure.

In Years 4 and 5, BAIHP staff worked with Ecotope to develop a valid sample for the next round of field testing, and began to develop the field testing protocol. In year 5, Ecotope selected 105 homes from the total production for the years 2001-2002. The field testing took place in the summer of Year 5. Findings from the testing include:

• Average house size is 1769 ft 2; double section homes are also getting bigger, on average. The house size is very comparable to the homes built in 1997-1998 but 20% larger than the homes in 1994-1995 study
• Houses are getting tighter, according to the blower door results. The average air leakage rate at 50 Pa is 4.2, which represents a tightening of almost 25% over the original MAP home average. The median equivalent leakage area (ELA) for double-section homes has decreased by about 12% despite a substantial increase in house size.
• Only about 20% of NEEM homes in this study contain intentional outside air inlets. This is the result of BAIHP research indicating that intentional outside air inlets are unnecessary to provide adequate fresh air.
• 2/3 of homes in the study have dedicated whole house fans and a substantial fraction of homeowners are using their whole house fans. However, a significant minority (30%) does not turn them on.
• About half of homes in the study use central cooling, with more than half of these homes using a heat pump.
• Duct systems are about 20% leakier than in the Year 1 study and about 10% leakier than in the 1994-1995 study (when the comparison is normalized by house size).
• The median supply leakage fraction is 11-13% for the homes in this sample. The duct loss translates into a heating system efficiency loss of between 10-20% overall, depending on the location of the home (west side or east side of the mountains) and type of heating equipment (heat pumps perform worse).

Problem Homes: In offering technical support to owners of over 100,000 homes built since 1990, the staff answers questions from homeowners, manufacturers, retailers and others. In Year 5, staff from Washington, Oregon and Idaho responded to over 90 phone calls and conducted 18 field visits. The number of problem home field visits has significantly decreased over the history of the program, in large part because of manufacturer’s and installer’s increased awareness of the SGC/E-Star specifications, and the requirement that manufactured home installers be certified in Washington and Oregon.

BAIHP staff participated in quarterly meetings of the Washington State Manufactured Housing Technical Working Group, which coordinates the certification of manufactured housing set-up crews.

While butyl duct tape is no longer allowed under current NEEM specifications, a consistent issue in the field continues to be excessive duct leakage, due in large part to failures of duct tape. These findings were brought to the attention of the NFPA-501 Mfg Housing Standards committee, resulting in a successful proposal to revise the duct sealing specifications in the NFPA-501 standard

In-Plant Inspections: On a quarterly basis, BAIHP staff visits each of the manufactured housing plants to verify compliance with SGC/E-Star specifications. Inspections include a plant audit, ventilation system testing, and troubleshooting construction-related problems with plant staff and independent inspectors. Consistent issues in the plant include wall insulation compression or voids due to improper cutting of batts, attention to duct installation and air sealing.

Transition to mastic: As mentioned above, the NEEM program eliminated the use of butyl tape for duct sealing, and implemented mastic. As of the end of Year 5, ten manufacturers have successfully transitioned to the mastic. Testing in-plant has indicated significant improvement in the duct leakage rates of these homes in these factories– an average 36.8 cfm @ 25 PA (versus 50.1 cfm @ 25 PA pre-mastic), a 27% improvement.

Duct Workshops: In Year 5, BAIHP staff continued to provide workshops focused on improved duct installation and inspection oversight, working in partnership with BAIHP partner Flexible Technologies to demonstrate the added value of their innovative duct sealing technologies.

Blown Cellulose Floor Insulation: Industry partner Engineered for Life (EFL, formerly Greenstone) has been working with SGC/E-STAR manufacturers to validate a hybrid insulation system. These systems, composed of one R-11 belly blanket and R-22 blown cellulose insulation eliminates over-compression and reduces the chance of leakage during transport and set-up, while minimizing material and labor costs. Fleetwood Homes of Washington adopted this system for all of their homes in Year 3. One potential consequence of using the hybrid system is increased moisture in the belly; in Year 5, BAIHP staff installed data loggers in two homes to determine whether this is a problem; the data loggers will be retrieved in Year 6.

High Efficiency Gas Furnaces: Initial evaluations of 90% efficient gas furnaces indicates that there is no incremental installation cost to the use of these furnaces, as no field modifications are required. In Year 5, Nordyne and Evcon came out with furnaces with an appropriate footprint for manufactured housing; Intertherm also continues to offer a 90% efficient model.

Demonstration Homes: In Year 5, technical support was provided for the following demonstration homes:

Figure 3 Zero Energy Manufactured Home, on site at the Nez Perce Fish Hatchery

The ZEMH was built in Year 4 along with a control home. The ZEMH was displayed at the 2002 Spokane County Interstate Fair before 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.

Working with FSEC and BPA, BAIHP staff installed monitoring equipment for the ZEMH. Monitoring of the home began in Year 5. Preliminary findings include:

• Measured net energy use of the ZEMH 6% is lower than the base home, not normalized for occupant behavior. This also does not take into account the fact that the ZEMH’s PV system was only fully operational for one month.
• The ZEMH required 45% less space heating energy, possibly due to improved building envelope measures, and the lack of consistent HRV operation.
• The measured envelope leakage in the ZEMH was 2.0 ACH 50, much lower than the base home (indeed, lower than any other NEEM home tested in the field) and substantially tighter than typical HUD code homes.
• The ZEMH total duct leakage was 46% lower than the base home; leakage to the outside was 405% lower than the base home. BAIHP staff speculate that the unprecedented low leakage to the outside value is the result of the ducts in the ZEMH being located within the conditioned space, and effectively within the pressure envelope of the home, surrounded as they are by foam insulation.
• The solar water heating system in the ZEMH provides most, if not all of the energy needed during the summer months, and roughly 45% of the overall water heating energy use.
• The PV system with net metering provides 38% of the total ZEMH energy use.

The project highlights the importance of occupant choices and behavior on the performance of energy efficient housing. Based on the preliminary monitoring data and occupant surveys, the behavior patterns of the ZEMH occupants are not themselves “energy efficient”. These patterns create the appearance of a less efficient home. On the other hand, the behavior of the ZEMH occupants may shorten the payback for the innovative technologies of the ZEMH.

BAIHP staff also performed a benchmarking analysis on the ZEMH, as part of the overall benchmarking effort. The ZEMH reached a level of 60% above the NREL prototype, which indicates the difficulty of obtaining a high benchmarking score As part of the effort to

- NOGI Gardens: , Nogi Gardens is a 75-home community located in southeast Seattle The project contains the first two-story, HUD code attached “townhouse homes.” All the homes have been built by Marlette Homes in Hermiston, Oregon to SGC/E-Star specifications. A blower door test of the building envelope showed 5.0 ACH at 50PA, average for a manufactured home in the Pacific Northwest. Duct leakage is very low, due to Marlette’s use of mastic and duct risers. During Year 5, Noji Gardens was the recipient of the HUD Secretary’s Gold Award for Excellence. Marlette was also the winner of the Energy Value Housing Award in Year 5.

- WSU Energy House: This 2600 ft. 2 home has been built to beyond SGC standards, and incorporates Energy Star lighting and appliances. The home has received significant national exposure through tours, local and trade media, and the BAIHP website, which includes house monitoring data. BAIHP staff use the house to test additional innovative technologies and testing methods. In Year 5, BAIHP staff developed a moisture case study based on research at the WSU Energy House, published under a separate Building America project.

In addition to the projects listed above, previous highlights from BAIHP research include:

- Vincent Village: Vincent Village is a 49 home rental community, located in Richland, WA. All of the homes are small, single section, heated and cooled by Insider heat pumps. Half the homes were built to SGC standards, the other half were not. 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. Testing revealed significant envelope and duct leakage, likely due from failure of butyl duct tape at risers.

- SIP House: This home, located in Western Washington and constructed by Champion Homes, is the first stress skin insulated panel manufactured home. House tightness was measured at 3.55 ACH at 50 Pa, well below the average numbers for all previous random home studies. Energy savings are estimated at 50% greater than HUD code minimum.

Field Monitoring: In Year 5, monitoring equipment was installed in the ZEMH and base home. The monitoring equipment collects the following energy use data from each home:

• Total electric use from grid
• Resistance elements in heat pump
• Heat pump compressor and fan motors
• Water heating equipment, including gallons used
• PV energy production (ZEMH)

Sensor data are collected every 15 minutes by data loggers and transmitted daily to the host computer. Summary data reports are available at: http://infomonitors.com/zmh/. Plug-type energy loggers were installed in mid March 2003 to sub-meter the energy use of the refrigerator, freezer and clothes washer in each home, as well as the radiant heat panel and HRV in the ZEMH. Data from these loggers was collected (by occupant readings) in mid-December 2003.

The WSU Energy House data has been monitored since year 1. Monitoring data being collected includes weather, temperature, humidity, CO 2, CO, and 8 differential pressures. Energy use data from water heat, laundry, fireplace, and HVAC are also being collected. Monitoring results from the WSU Energy House have been presented to the building science, IAQ and HVAC research communities at ASHRAE, AIVC, HUD/NIST, NFPA and BETEC. Data is available at http://logger.fsec.ucf.edu/cgi‑bin/wg40.exe?user=lubresidence

New Product and Technology Evaluation

- Through the rim crossover duct system: Three Oregon manufacturers, Marlette, Skyline and Homebuilders Northwest, adopted a crossover duct system that runs through a cut out section of the rim joist, effectively placing the entire crossover system in the heated space. A gasket on the marriage line provides a seal between sections. Correct measurements, gasket material designed not to rip off the rim.

- La Salle Duct Riser: BAIHP staff worked with BAIHP partner La Salle Air to design and produce a duct riser for manufactured homes that uses mastic instead of tape. BAIHP staff demonstrated prototype designs of the riser to Northwest manufacturers in Year 3. Three manufacturers (Redman, Fleetwood and Marlette) have adopted the new riser; several others are considering it. BAIHP staff have also worked with Fleetwood’s national office to promote the use of the riser in all Fleetwood plants. During Year 5, BAIHP staff promoted the use of this technology at the annual MHI conference.

- Flexible Technologies: BAIHP partner Flexible Technologies has developed an innovative system that improves the heat and tear resistance of the duct inner liner, reduces the crimping of ductwork without the use of sheet metal elbows, and an improved system to air seal where the crossover duct penetrates the bottom board. BAIHP staff are evaluating the use of this system in the WSU Energy House, and are working with Flexible Technologies staff to promote the use of the new system to the region’s manufacturers.

In addition to the above technologies, past BAIHP technology evaluation efforts include:

- Energy Conservancy: BAIHP staff worked with the Energy Conservancy to evaluate their new products for measuring air handler and exhaust fan flows.

- Insider Heat Pump: Monitoring of the Insider heat pump at the WSU Energy House was begun in Year 1. Measured flow rate of the indoor unit was good (850 CFM total, 425 CFM per ton), but BAIHP staff identified two performance issues: a too-frequent operation of the defrost cycle and a lower than expected airflow at the outdoor coil. Continued testing of the Insider in Year 3 indicated a 10% increase in COP due to increased airflow at the outdoor coil. At Vincent Village, the property manager indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the Insider heat pumps, with no comfort complaints.

Research Support

ASHRAE : During Year 5, in the capacity of chairing ASHRAE’s 6.2 Technical committee, BAIHP staff directed a major effort to revise Chapter 9 of the ASHRAE Systems Handbook, “Design of Small Forced-air Heating and Cooling Systems.” The revisions to the chapter, which incorporated BAIHP research, were accepted by the committee, and forwarded to ASHRAE for publication.
BAIHP staff have also participated in ASHRAE research projects, conferences, symposiums, seminars and forums, including:

* Authoring a paper on duct leakage, which was submitted and approved for presentation at ASHRAE summer meeting in Year 5.

* Making a presentation at the ASHRAE summer meeting in Year 4, “Uncontrolled Air Flow in Small Commercial Buildings.”

* Moderating a forum on HVAC experiences in HUD code housing at ASHRAE’s summer meeting in Year 3. 20 industry and building science professionals participated in the forum.

* Co-chairing ASHRAE’s Technical Committee 6.3 – Residential Forced Air Heating and Cooling Equipment, which is responsible for ASHRAE standard 152 – Thermal Distribution Systems.

* Building America research on ductwork and HVAC systems will be included in the next version of the ASHRAE standards. Building America research will also be a part of future efforts in TC 6.3.

NFPA-501: BAIHP continues to support the NFPA standards process. The NFPA standard is typically incorporated into the HUD code, which governs the construction of over 250,000 HUD code homes each year.

*In Year 5, BAIHP staff integrated BAIHP duct leakage and cost data into proposals to the NFPA-501 committee. Based on this data, NFPA approved a new standard on duct tightness, as well as a refined duct testing protocol.

* In Year 4, BAIHP staff cited Building America research and demonstration efforts in support of additional successful proposals for standards revision, including duct testing, and use of mastic in duct sealing.

ACEEE : BAIHP staff have co-authored two papers presented at ACEEE Conferences, “Pushing the Envelope: A Case Study of Building the First Manufactured Home Using Structural Insulated Panels,” and “Washington State Residential Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Code (VIAQ) - Whole House Ventilation Systems Field Research Report.”

National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST): BAIHP staff continues to work with NIST staff and industry representatives to evaluate ventilation and IAQ issues in HUD code homes.

* BAIHP staff also worked with NIST and the Energy Conservancy to perform tests on a typical HUD code model house on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Testing indicates low flow rates of the whole house ventilation system and significant duct leakage.

National Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA): BAIHP staff continues to participate on MHRA’s Energy Star committee, which is developing Quality Assurance procedures with USEPA on Energy Star manufactured homes. An article on the ZEMH appeared in the MHRA newsletter.

• Portable Classrooms

During Years 1 through 4, BAIHP staff conducted a major effort to promote the adoption of energy efficient portable classrooms in the Pacific Northwest. BAIHP staff from Washington, Oregon and Idaho studied both new, energy efficient portable classrooms and a retrofitted classroom (originally built in the 1970s).

As a result of these studies and additional computer modeling, project staff developed a series of energy-efficient guidelines for portable classrooms in the Pacific Northwest. These guidelines cover the procurement, set-up and commissioning of new portable classrooms, as well as the retrofitting of existing portable classrooms.

The project final report and guidelines are available on the project website:

http://www.energy.wsu.edu/projects/building/portable_prj.cfm

As part of a separate Building America project, former BAIHP staff are continuing to provide outreach on efficient portable classrooms, based on the BAIHP efforts.

• List of Peer Reviewed Papers Produced Under BAIHP

ACEEE

Baechler, M.; Lubliner, M; Gordon, A. “Pushing the Envelope: A Case Study of Building the First Manufactured Home Using Structural Insulated Panels” – Invited paper, presented at ACEEE Summer Study, Year 3.

Lubliner, M; Kunkle, R; Devine, J; Gordon, A. “Washington State Residential Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Code (VIAQ) - Whole House Ventilation Systems Field Research Report” – Invited paper, presented at ACEEE Summer Study, Year 3.

AIVC

Lubliner, M; Gordon, A.“Ventilation in US Manufactured Housing” – Invited paper, presented at the 21 st annual AIVC conference, Year 1.

Lubliner, M.; Gordon, A.; Persily, A.; Moyer, N.; Richins, W.; Blakeley, J. “Building Envelope, Duct Leakage and HVAC System Performance in HUD-Code Manufactured Homes” – Invited paper, presented at the 23 rd annual AIVC conference, Year 4.

American Solar Energy Society (ASES)

Lubliner, M; Nelson, M; Parker, D. “Gossamer Wind Solar Power Ceiling Fan” – invited paper, presented at ASES conference, Year 5.

Lubliner, M.; Hadley, A.; Gordon, A. “Introducing Solar ready Manufactured Housing” – invited paper, to be presented at ASES conference, Year 6.

ASHRAE

Lubliner, M.; et. al. ASHRAE 2004 Systems and Equipment Handbook chapter 9 – Residential and Small Commercial HVAC Systems. Year 5.

Hales, D; Lubliner, M; Gordon, A. “Duct Leakage in New Washington State Residences: Findings and Conclusions” – Invited paper, presented at ASHRAE Summer Meeting, Year 5.

Lubliner, M.; Gordon, A.; Hadley, A. “Manufactured Home Performance; Comparing Zero Energy and Energy Star”. Invited paper, submitted to Whole Buildings IX International Conference, to take place in Year 6.

Automated Builder Magazine

Baechler, M; Gordon, A. “Northwest Portable Classroom Study”, Year 5.

Gordon, A.; Lubliner M. “Zero Energy Manufactured Home”, Year 5.

Manufactured Housing Research Alliance

Lubliner. “Zero Energy Manufactured Home”, Year 5.