PNNL

Abstract

This article describes construction of the first manufactured home ever produced from structural insulated panels. The home was built in July 2000 by Champion Enterprises at its Silverton, Oregon, plant. The house was completed on the assembly line in 9 days including a 300-mile road test. The paper examines the design and approval process leading to the project, the manufacturing process and its adjustment to SIPs, and the transportation and energy performance of the house after it was built. PNNL coordinated this project and conducted long-term monitoring on the house. The WSU Energy Program conducted building diagnostics testing once the house was occupied. PNNL and WSU involvement was funded by the U.S. DOE Building America Program. The Oregon Office of Energy conducted blower door and duct blaster tests. The completed home was estimated to reduce energy consumption by 50% and to have twice the structural strength required by HUD code for manufactured homes. The demonstration proved that the manufactured home production line could support SIPs production simultaneously with traditional construction and without major modifications, the line work in parallel with SIPs and traditional materials. The project revealed severl possibilities for further improving cost and time savings with SIPs construction, that might translate into increased capacity.