Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: The Chameleon House: an Adaptive Sustainable Manufactured Home
EPA Grant Number: SU833190Title: The Chameleon House: an Adaptive Sustainable Manufactured Home
Investigators: Mansy, Khaled , McGaughey, Adam , Stewart, Andrew , Chan, Augustus , Bailey, Brad , Letzig, Brian , Wolfe, Brian , Murray, Daniel , Cassel, Darren , Round, Daryl , Allen, Emily , Parizek, James , Robertson, Jennifer , Collins, Joe , Denning, John , Allen, Joshua , Munger, Joshua , Testa, Kristina , Sullivan, Michael , Bilbeisi, Mohammad , Obata, Takeshi , Nguyen, Tri , Sanchez, Winunpa
Institution: Oklahoma State University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2007
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2006) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Nanotechnology , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Student teams produced concept designs for a manufactured home that uses minimal amount of purchased energy to provide heating and cooling for its occupants. The objective was to design a portable house that can adapt to the possible range of climatic conditions within the geographic borders of the State of Oklahoma. The house uses refillable water tanks as a thermal mass and can adapt to the changing climatic conditions from season to season, i.e., from winter to summer and vice versa.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
By the end of the project and based on students’ designs, it can be stated that: a manufactured house can be ultra energy-efficient using over-the-shelf technology and common construction materials.
Figure 1: Students in front of an OCI-manufactured home.
- Scheme 1: The Rotating Solar Cap
This concept design is simple and versatile at the same time. For any site placement of the house itself, a rotating solar cap can be installed to face due south. The house itself comes in three pieces; the living room and two flanking wings. The solar cap is placed on the top of the living room. The solar cap is shipped separately and comes in two designs (A or B in Figure 2) depending on the south direction. Total area of the house is 1,200 sq.ft. Excluding the electricity that is generated by a BIPV system, the house saves up to 44.21% of the annual energy consumption compared to an all-electric similar-size super-insulated house in Oklahoma.
- Scheme 2: A Room-by-Room Assembly
This concept design is expandable over time. Each room in the house can be ordered separately, then (on site) all pieces are assembled together in a linear manner. This 1,100 sq.ft. house is two-bedroom (as shown in Figure 3), and can expand to 1,320 sq.ft. with the purchase of one more room-module. Passive heating is provided by the glazed French windows along the two long sides. However, in case the short side of the house is facing south, an additional endpiece (shaded areas on the plan in Figure 3) that includes an indirect passive heating system can be attached onto that short side. Low-cost cooling is possible with the operation of a whole house fan that is integrated into the tall end piece. Excluding PV electricity, this house saves up to 40.63% of the annual energy consumption.
- Scheme 3: Anchored to the Sun
In this concept design, the house is anchored to the sun (south direction) by its living room. The living room enjoys three different exterior exposures (the arrows in Figure 4), which allows it to face the sun regardless of the site placement. An adequately-sized indirect passive heating system is attached to the living room on its south-facing wall. Only if south is on the master bedroom side, the indirect passive heating system can be attached to master bedroom’s solid wall. This 1,024 sq.ft. house can be shipped in three pieces on one semi-truck as shown in Figure 4. Excluding PV electricity, this house saves up to 38.44% of the annual energy consumption. - Scheme 4: The Footless Print This concept design does not only conserve energy but also the land. To minimize its impact on the planet, this Chameleon House is elevated on expandable pedestals. This 943 sq.ft. house is narrow and long, so it can be shipped on a single semi-truck. To provide passive heating, multiple windows face the four directions. Adjustable external shading devices protect windows in summer and allow the sun into the inside in winter. PV panels, mounted on the adjustable shading devices, produce electricity year round. The space underneath the house can be used as a carport or a shaded outdoor living area. The roof is accessible and can be used during temperate climatic conditions. Including the electricity generated by the PV, this house can save up to 48.7% of the annual energy consumption.
Figure 2: The Rotating Solar Cap
Figure 3: A Room-by-Room Assembly
Figure 4: Anchored to the Sun
Figure 5: The Footless Print
Conclusions:
These concept designs were successful. They also proved the following:
- The interdisciplinary approach applied through the integrated design process contributed the most to the success of this student design project. Feedback from the thermal load calculations helped the students to make the right decisions in the right time (early enough during the design process).
- Using over-the-shelf technology can result in significant energy savings. In this project, students used commercially available glass and insulation, and other common construction materials. . In Oklahoma (with the help of night insulation) 100% passive heating is possible even during extremely cold and long winter nights.
- The design of an add-on indirect (or isolated) heat gain system may have a potential demand in the market. This add-on system, if designed to be independent from site placement, can be used in a wide-variety of single-family homes. The Rotating Solar Cap scheme is an evidence of that.
- In Oklahoma, natural ventilation cannot provide cooling during all summer months. However, the whole house fan can provide an effective low-cost cooling that can save up to 45% of cooling energy.
- Super insulation, coupled with thermal mass, can enhance the performance of manufactured homes in summer and winter, and are essential to making 100% passive solar heating possible.
Recommendations
General recommendations for the OCI (Oklahoma Correctional Industries) include the following:
- Use 6-inch stud framing and the foamed-in-place insulation, instead of the 4-inch studs with batt (blanket) insulation.
- Use the whole house fan. Locate it in a small space in the attic to minimize noise.
- Use movable shading devices to shade glass during summer months.
Besides the general recommendations above, one more specific recommendation to OCI is:
- The OCI may adopt the Rotating Solar Cap scheme, since it employs technologies that are similar to those currently used by the OCI.
Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies
- Phase II objectives
Phase II focuses on a small-size product than a complete manufactured house. The proposed challenge for Phase II is: the design of a versatile passive solar heating system that can be prefabricated and shipped to building sites to be attached to single-family homes. This new passive heating system should be sized to supply certain heating demands. This system will be mass produced in manufacturing plants by skilled labor, inspected and tested, and then shipped to building sites where it is attached to homes by less skilled construction workers. - Energy conservation on the local and national levels.
- Lower energy bills for single family homes.
- Less pollution to the environment on the local and global levels.
- Phase II strategies
The strategy for Phase II is to involve students (graduate & undergraduate) in the design, building, and monitoring of the proposed product (system). In doing that, students will be asked to perform three major activities (steps) in order to successfully complete this project. These three steps are: - Step # 1: Further design development of the passive solar heating system to make it versatile, efficient, simple to build, and portable.
- Step # 2: Simulation and calculation of the heating capacity of the system; in order to finalize the design and produce relevant construction drawings and details.
- Step # 3: Experimental testing and monitoring of a full-scale model of the system.
The most promising result from Phase I is the simplicity of the solution. As suggested by scheme # 1, the Rotating Solar Cap, if the passive solar heating system is designed as a cap that can be placed on the top of the structure, this cap can be oriented to face south regardless of the house’s site placement. This solution does not pose undesired limitations on the design of the house itself. In fact, this solution does not only apply to manufactured homes, but also to site-built single family homes.
The product (system) described above is innovative, and has a potential to overcome the barriers that limit the spread of passive heating systems. If this system can replace traditional means for heating, i.e., electricity and Natural Gas, the results will include:
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 6 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Engineering, energy, conservation, pollution prevention, innovative technology, sustainable development, population, socio-economic, public good, regionalization, industry, EPA region 6,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Sustainable Industry/Business, POLLUTION PREVENTION, Sustainable Environment, Energy, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Environmental Engineering, energy conservation, sustainable development, environmentally conscious manufacturing, alternative building technology, climate control and illumination building, environmental conscious construction, green building design, manufactured homes, energy efficiency, architectureRelevant Websites:
http://www.ocisales.com Exit
http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=12535 Exit
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.