Approaches to 30% Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

BA-PIRC has worked with several community-scale builders within the hot humid climate zone to improve performance of production, or community scale, housing. Tommy Williams Homes (Gainesville, FL), Lifestyle Homes (Melbourne, FL), and Habitat for Humanity (various locations, FL) have all been continuous partners of the BA Program and are the subjects of this report to document achievement of the Building America goal of 30% whole house energy savings packages adopted at the community scale. The scope of this report is to demonstrate achievement of these goals though the documentation of production-scale homes built cost-effectively at the community scale, and modeled to reduce whole-house energy use by 30% in the Hot Humid climate region. Key aspects of this research include determining how to evolve existing energy efficiency packages to produce replicable target savings, identifying what builders' technical assistance needs are for implementation and working with them to create sustainable quality assurance mechanisms, and documenting the commercial viability through neutral cost analysis and market acceptance. This report documents certain barriers builders overcame and the approaches they implemented in order to accomplish Building America (BA) Program goals that have not already been documented in previous reports

The Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP)

The Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP) is one of five competitively selected U.S. DOE Building America teams and began work on 9/1/99. BAIHP focuses on improving the energy efficiency, durability and indoor air quality in manufactured homes. Team members, Cavalier Homes, Fleetwood Homes, Palm Harbor Homes, Southern Energy Homes, and manufacturers in the Super Good Cents/Natural Choice program produce over 100,000 manufactured homes/yr currently. In addition, the BAIHP team provides technical assistance to about 30 site builders and modular home manufacturers including Habitat for Humanity affiliates throughout the nation. BAIHP is also charged with enhancing the energy efficiency and learning environment in portable classrooms in the northwestern states of WA, OR and ID. This paper summarizes the multifaceted work being performed by BAIHP and provides specific data on 310 homes constructed in the Gainesville FL area with technical assistance from Florida Home Energy and Resources Organization. The paper also summarizes typical causes and cures for moisture problems in manufactured homes

AN OVERVIEW OF BUILDING AMERICA INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSING PARTNERSHIP (BAIHP) ACTIVITIES IN HOT-HUMID CLIMATES

BAIHP (www.baihp.org ) conducts systems research and technical assistance activities for new housing. Hot-humid climate efforts described here include: Systems research : NightCool – A hybrid cooling and dehumidification strategy employing radiative cooling and desiccant materials. Interior Duct Systems in Manufactured Houses – Tests are ongoing in an occupied prototype home in Alabama and the FSEC manufactured housing lab. Ventilation and Dehumidification – A new strategy has been developed to hook up a whole-house dehumidifier so that it only runs when the air conditioning compressor is off. Plug Load Reduction – Whole house feedback devices and security system based plug load reductions are being evaluated in prototype homes. Solar and Conventional Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Testing – A test facility is being constructed to conduct side by side testing of three active and passive solar, two gas and two electric DHW systems. Technical assistance was provided on the design, construction and evaluation of four near zero energy homes and over 300 highly energy efficient production homes in subdivisions during 2007 and 2008

Affordable Energy-Efficient New Housing Solutions

Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America has sponsored research at PNNL to investigate cost-effective, energy-saving home-building technologies and to demonstrate how high-performance homes can deliver lower utility bills, increased comfort, and improved indoor air quality, while maintaining accessibility for low-income homeowners. PNNL and its contractors have been investigating 1) cost-effective whole-house solutions for Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and specific HFH affiliates in hot-humid and marine climates; 2) cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in new, stick-built and manufactured homes; and 3) energy-efficient domestic hot-water systems

Affordable Energy-Efficient New Housing Solutions

Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America has sponsored research at PNNL to investigate cost-effective, energy-saving home-building technologies and to demonstrate how high-performance homes can deliver lower utility bills, increased comfort, and improved indoor air quality, while maintaining accessibility for low-income homeowners. PNNL and its contractors have been investigating 1) cost-effective whole-house solutions for Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and specific HFH affiliates in hot-humid and marine climates; 2) cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in new, stick-built and manufactured homes; and 3) energy-efficient domestic hot-water systems

Measure Guideline: Summary of Interior Ducts in New Construction, Including an Efficient, Affordable Method to Install Fur-Down Interior Ducts

This document illustrates guidelines for the efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing, including the fur-up chase method, the fur-down chase method, and interior ducts positioned in sealed attics or sealed crawl spaces. This document illustrates guidelines for the efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing. Interior ducts result from bringing the duct work inside a home's thermal and air barrier. Architects, designers, builders, and new home buyers should thoroughly investigate any opportunity for energy savings that is as easy to implement during construction, such as the opportunity to construct interior duct work. In addition to enhanced energy efficiency, interior ductwork results in other important advantages, such as improved indoor air quality, increased system durability and increased homeowner comfort. While the advantages of well-designed and constructed interior duct systems are recognized, the implementation of this approach has not gained a significant market acceptance. This guideline describes a variety of methods to create interior ducts including the fur-up chase method, the fur-down chase method, and interior ducts positioned in sealed attics or sealed crawl spaces. As communication of the intent of an interior duct system, and collaboration on its construction are paramount to success, this guideline details the critical design, planning, construction, inspection, and verification steps that must be taken. Involved in this process are individuals from the design team; sales/marketing team; and mechanical, insulation, plumbing, electrical, framing, drywall and solar contractors

Commissioning High Performance Residences in Hot, Humid Climates

Since 2001, the authors have engaged several builders in the Gainesville, FL area to build over 500 high performance new energy efficient homes in multiple sub divisions. The builders keep building to increased levels of energy efficiency. Each home is individually designed, inspected, rated and commissioned for optimum performance. This paper summarizes the experiences to date with two production builders who have cost shared with the Building America program to deliver these outstanding results. Keys to success are commitment from the final decision maker; scopes of work for subcontractors with specific performance criteria; clear communication with the trades often accompanied by training and education activities; independent third party testing, commissioning and feedback to building; ongoing training of sales staff and model center displays and finally extensive marketing that educated the consumers about the benefits of high performance homes

Approaches to 30% Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

BA-PIRC has worked with several community-scale builders within the hot humid climate zone to improve performance of production, or community scale, housing. Tommy Williams Homes (Gainesville, FL), Lifestyle Homes (Melbourne, FL), and Habitat for Humanity (various locations, FL) have all been continuous partners of the BA Program and are the subjects of this report to document achievement of the Building America goal of 30% whole house energy savings packages adopted at the community scale. The scope of this report is to demonstrate achievement of these goals though the documentation of production-scale homes built cost-effectively at the community scale, and modeled to reduce whole-house energy use by 30% in the Hot Humid climate region. Key aspects of this research include determining how to evolve existing energy efficiency packages to produce replicable target savings, identifying what builders' technical assistance needs are for implementation and working with them to create sustainable quality assurance mechanisms, and documenting the commercial viability through neutral cost analysis and market acceptance. This report documents certain barriers builders overcame and the approaches they implemented in order to accomplish Building America (BA) Program goals that have not already been documented in previous reports