On Oct. 11-13, the Weatherization Training Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology will conduct a tutorial on weatherizing mobile homes.
Registered participants representing nonprofit weatherization providers in Pennsylvania will be shown methods and techniques to make such homes more comfortable and energy-efficient for their clients. State field representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development also will be present.
Significant improvements have been made in the structural and thermal properties of manufactured homes over the years, some of which can barely be distinguished from their site-built counterparts.
According to William R. Van der Meer, director of the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center at Penn College, older manufactured homes tend to heat up and cool down rather quickly due to shallow roof, wall and floor cavities, which contain very low insulation levels. Because they have exposed floor systems, they have a high exposed surface-to-floor-area ratio. This makes them more susceptible to heat loss than site-built homes.
A large number of mobile homes exist in rural Pennsylvania. Properly applied insulation and air-sealing measures offer opportunities for significant energy improvements, along with corresponding savings on a homeowner?s energy bills.
The training event is scheduled to kick off at the Radisson Hotel in Williamsport with an all-day classroom presentation. The following two days will involve hands-on demonstrations of air sealing, duct sealing and reinsulation of the floor cavity. The project then will shift focus to the roof cavity, where the metal roof skin will be unfastened and the roof cavity reinsulated with blown insulation.
Other measures such as heating-system improvements, window and door treatments, and indoor air-quality issues also will be discussed. An air-leakage test will be performed on the home to document the effectiveness of the completed energy package.
The host for the field portion of the tutorial is Ray's Homes, 2462 Lycoming Creek Road, Williamsport. Ray's Homes has provided a previously owned mobile home from its sales lot, where the demonstration will be held.
For more information about the training programs offered by the WTC at Penn College, call (570) 327-4768 or visit online.