Pine Tree Net Zero Open House

Eatontown, New Jersey will be the site of a rare but emerging type of new residence: A New Generation Net Zero Energy Manufactured Home (ZERH). This home is being built as part of a U.S. Department of Energy-funded effort to develop Ultra-Efficient Affordable Home Designs. The work will be conducted by The Levy Partnership (TLP), Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA), Champion Home Builders in Claysburg, PA, and the local partner, the Affordable Housing Alliance. The end product will be the first ZERH home to be located at the Pine Tree Manufactured Home Park in Eatontown, NJ.

What does this mean to you the prospective home buyers? This represents a high efficient lower energy cost home designed with the latest technology, and a whole new level of home performance, with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability. The home will be installed at the Pine Tree Manufactured Home Park in Eatontown, a community managed by the Affordable Housing Alliance of Neptune, NJ.

This ZERH home will be showcased in a cold climate which will be instrumental for data collection and will be monitored for 18 months (six months unoccupied and 12 months occupied). The home will include a photovoltaic system, (solar PV power system designed to supply usable solar power) bringing the house to zero energy use on an annual basis. This integrated design approach is a next step in on the path to cutting the energy cord for all homeowners.

Affordable Housing Alliance who has already piloted several energy star homes as part of its affordable housing initiatives is “excited” to provide the site in Eatontown for what could be one of the most affordable housing types in the industry. The home will be made available for immediate sale with occupancy following the six month vacant monitoring period.

About the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA)

The Systems Building Research Alliance, founded in 1995, is a non-profit organization with the mission of developing new technologies to enhance the value, quality and performance of the nation’s factory built structures, manufactured and modular, residential and commercial. SBRA’s research supports the industry by developing new methods for using factory built structures in a wide array of applications, by solving technical challenges, and by paving the way for innovations in design, construction and installation. SBRA develops tests and promotes better methods and materials for designing, manufacturing and marketing factory built structures. These activities include research, new product development, training and educational programs, testing programs and demonstrations, commercialization efforts, workshops, conferences and other events.

About The Levy Partnership, Inc. (TLP) and ARIES

The Levy Partnership (TLP) is a multidisciplinary consulting firm established in 1983 serving the building industry. The firm’s professional staff includes: architects, engineers, building scientists and diagnosticians, energy analysts, planners and building systems specialists. Since its inception, TLP has managed the systems Building Research Alliance, the research arm of the factory building business.

TLP is also the team lead for the Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions (ARIES) consortium, one of the five interdisciplinary teams organized under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program. ARIES was created to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative and cost-effective approaches for dramatically reducing energy use of the nation’s affordable housing, both existing and new. The team is broadly representative, including more than 50 organizations, drawing from stakeholders in the affordable housing and energy research communities.

About Affordable Housing Alliance

The Affordable Housing Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation in the state of New Jersey formed in 1991. Our core services include the new construction of safe, energy efficient affordable housing, housing renovation and neighborhood stabilization, rental housing search assistance, providing HUD-certified new homeowner counseling and workshops, financial literacy training, foreclosure mediation and counseling, conversion mortgage counseling, and utility assistance. AHA also works as an administrative agent with municipalities and developers to manage affordable housing guidelines within specific communities. AHA often partners with other agencies to achieve our common goal of creating and strengthening communities and assisting low-to-middle income households to sustain their existing home ownership as well as create new homeowners through education, counseling and supportive services. AHA is the region’s leading affordable housing developer and we are proud to have become a member of the national NeighborWorks America network in 2011.

About Champion Homes

Champion was founded over 60 years ago and today is one of the largest factory homebuilders in North America. Headquartered in Michigan, the company has 30 manufacturing facilities throughout the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, and over 4,400 dedicated employees. Its current offerings include manufactured homes, modular homes, townhouses, duplexes as well as wood and steel-framed modular buildings for commercial use. There are 13 brands within Champion including: Silvercrest®, Titan®, Redman Homes®, Homes of Merit™, Atlantic® Homes, Athens Park Homes®, Dutch® Housing, New Era Building Solutions™, Carolina Building Solutions™, Highland Manufacturing™, Fortune® Homes, North American Housing and New Image Homes®.