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U.S Department of Energy Beginning Development of
Energy Efficiency Standards for Manufactured Housing
Section 413 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) requires the Department of Energy to establish "standards for energy efficiency in manufactured housing" within 4 years (by December 2011). EISA requires that the standards be based on the most recent version (including supplements) of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) except in cases where it is not cost effective. The text of Section 413 is here:
Section 413. Energy Code Improvements Applicable To Manufactured Housing (PDF 9 KB)
The Department of Energy is initiating development of the manufactured housing energy efficiency standards. The Department will use an hourly energy simulation tool to analyze the national energy use and savings potential from improvements to the building thermal envelope, thermal distribution system efficiency, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. A life-cycle cost analysis will be performed to determine cost effective standards.
The Department will utilize the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) (see www.iccsafe.org/) as the starting point in the development of the manufacturing housing standards. The 2009 IECC is not yet available and will be finalized in September 2008.
The current requirements for energy efficiency are set under the authority of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard (24 CFR 3280), commonly know as HUD-code. The energy efficiency requirements in the HUD-code have not been updated since 1994 and are substantially less stringent than the IECC.
The Department will build upon previous analyses it has conducted on energy efficiency options for manufactured homes. The paper below was published in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Transactions, and details an analysis that compared the energy efficiency measures in the National Fire Protection Association Standard 501-2005; the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star manufactured housing guidelines; and Best Practice, based on the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership program home built in the Pacific Northwest:
National Energy Savings Potential in HUD-Code Housing from Thermal Envelope and HVAC Equipment Improvements (PDF 564 KB)
Additionally, the following is an economic analysis of updating the thermal envelope requirements of the HUD-code that is documented in this paper in 2004:
Revision of the Energy-Efficiency Requirements in the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (PDF 5.3 MB)
The Department expects to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule in 2009, followed by a period in which public comments can be submitted on the proposed rule. Check back to this webpage for updates on progress on the development of the manufactured housing energy efficiency code.
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