What's being billed as the "next generation" manufactured home will be unveiled tomorrow in Danbury, Conn.

Though rather modest in size, the innovative structure holds great promise by demonstrating how the factory-built homes many people still refer to as trailers or mobile homes will perform in the future, and how they will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional, site-built houses.

Actually, it's already tough to tell manufactured houses the only dwellings built to a national building code administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development from stick-built houses, at least when they are sited and landscaped properly. Unfortunately, many still aren't.

And for the most part, they're still sold on the side of the road from what looks like used car lots, which also contributes to their negative image, at least in more heavily populated areas.

But NextGen, a demonstration project for the Partnership for Advanced Technology in Housing is intended to redefine the conventional wisdom of what a HUD-code home can be.

PATH is a voluntary, private-public initiative administered by HUD. From a design and engineering perspective, for example, one of the greatest achievements could be the home's remarkable energy performance.

The test results aren't all in yet, but recent computer modeling shows the test house not only qualified for the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star rating, it exceeds those requirements by nearly 20 percent. An Energy Star rating means a dwelling uses 30 percent less energy for home heating, cooling, and water heating than homes based on the national Model Energy Code.

This amounts to a $180 reduction in annual energy costs. That's not a lot of money for many people, but in the world of affordable housing, it can mean the difference between paying your monthly mortgage or freezing in the cold winter months.

The three-bedroom, two-bath house is comprised of two factory-built sections that were trucked to the site and joined to form a 28-foot wide, 48-foot long "shot gun-style" building. The upstairs holds the third bedroom plus unfinished attic space which can be used for a fourth bedroom and another bath.

With 1,300 square feet of finished living space, NextGen cost $90,000, including land. But a new, conventionally-built home of comparable size and quality in Danbury would sell for close to $200,000.

Fast turnaround is another hallmark of manufactured housing, and the demo house is no exception, even by HUD-code standards. According to New Era, the home's Strattanville, PA, manufacturer, it can be produced, delivered and installed in as little as four weeks. Three to five- months is standard for a site-built house.

Published: May 8, 2000

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