Quick Envelope and Duct Leakage Assessments in Manufactured Homes

Manufactured homes provide critical affordable housing in the United States. Manufactured home residents, especially those living in older “mobile homes,” spend almost twice as much as single-family homes on energy per square foot to heat and cool their homes. Replacing worn out mobile homes with new and much more energy efficient manufactured homes is beginning to emerge as an alternative to Weatherization in certain situations However, even in new homes errors in the home siting process and potential for damage during transport can lead to envelope and duct leakage issues that can go undetected for a long time, unless they are severe enough to trigger a customer complaint due to moisture issues, comfort issues, or high energy bills. This session will share how practitioners can use a quick, easy, and low-cost simplified protocol to identify some of the biggest envelope and duct leakage issues in new manufactured homes before they lead to occupant comfort complaints. We will share protocol testing results from our U.S. Department of Energy funded efforts and explain the practical applications for how it can be used to identify major issues in newer manufactured homes.