Under an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA) has developed a process, geared specifically to the needs of modular home builders, for building homes that earn the ENERGY STAR label. The new protocol requires energy performance equivalent to ENERGY STAR site built homes but with compliance procedures better suited to factory construction.

The effort was undertaken at the request of modular builders that found the current compliance procedures, developed primarily for site builders, expensive and not factory friendly. In developing the new protocol, MHRA worked closely with modular builders, experts in the energy field and other ENERGY STAR program stakeholders.

MHRA will be coordinating a series of pilot developments using the new protocol. As part of the pilots, MHRA staff will assist modular companies and their builders/dealers in qualifying their homes for the ENERGY STAR label. Approximately five plants will be selected to participate based on geographical distribution, product diversity and other factors. Manufacturers and builders interested in participating should contact Jordan Dentz at jdentz@research-alliance.org by April 15, 2008. A description of the alternative compliance process is available on the MHRA website at http://www.mhrahome.org.