America’s largest builder of manufactured houses, Clayton Homes, has been selected by the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA) to build three homes for a 15-month energy performance test. Southern Energy Homes (SEhomes), a subsidiary of Clayton Homes, built the three dwellings at its home building facility in Double Springs, Ala. Testing will be conducted at SEhomes’ new state-of-the-art home building facility in Russellville, Ala., where they will be on display at its Aug. 8 opening event.
Each of SEhomes’ three SBRA test homes represents a different level of energy efficiency: one complies with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) thermal standards, one is an Energy Star-qualified home and one meets the DOE requirements for the Challenge Home Program, also known as a DOE Zero Energy Ready Home. It is the only manufactured home in the nation to qualify for the DOE Challenge Home Program and features advanced wall framing, fiberglass insulation roofs, high performance double-glazed windows, compact fluorescent lamp lighting, and Energy Star appliances.
The SBRA will monitor and conduct analysis on each of the test homes to determine whether or not the yearly energy-saving benefits from the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home generate efficiencies associated with this superior level of energy performance. Testing began in April 2014 and will continue through July 2015. Depending on the results, the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home could be built in the future and made available to consumers.
