An analysis of air distribution system losses in contemporary HUD code manufactured housing.

Manufactured homes, often referred to as HUD-code homes, are continuing to grow in importance as a national housing resource and represented 23% of all new home construction in 1995. In spite of groundbreaking work to characterize the performance of air distribution systems in site-built housing, in new manufactured homes, the subject has been largely ignored. Field data was gathered from 24 typical new HUD-code homes in four regions in the continental United States. This study describes air distribution system losses estimated through an analysis of system and distribution efficiencies. The results presented include summaries of the physical audits, air tightness testing, and separate air distribution system analyses for the heating and cooling climates. Losses attributable to air distribution systems range from 18%-40%. An example of the operating cost penalties of air distribution system losses is described. Opportunities for improvement in air distribution system performance over current manufactured housing practice are discussed. This paper is a synopsis of the research study “Air of Importance: A Study of Air Distribution Systems in Manufactured Homes”