December 11, 2007- As the National Modular Housing Council (NMHC) has long espoused, modular housing is an important and growing segment of the residential market, and Energy Star is a valuable marketing tool for modular builders. However, many modular builders have found the current procedures for qualifying homes for the Energy Star label expensive and difficult to complete.

To encourage more modular companies to embrace Energy Star, the NMHC has supported the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA), working under an agreement with the US EPA, in developing an alternative compliance protocol over the past several months. The protocol was designed to work with the modular building process, streamlining and simplifying the steps to qualify for the Energy Star label. In developing the new protocol, MHRA worked closely with modular builders, experts in the energy field and other Energy Star program stakeholders.

A draft of the alternative compliance process is available for review and comment. The deadline for comments is December 31, 2007. The alternative process will be launched in early 2008. To download the draft protocol, either click below on "View Document" or you can visit www.mhrahome.org. For questions, email Jordan Dentz at MHRA at jdentz@research-alliance.org.

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