After the loss of homes caused by Tropical Storm Irene, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board partnered with Efficiency Vermont for the Manufactured Housing Innovation Project, a pilot project focused on developing new manufactured homes for Vermont homeowners. With the help of John Broderick, the executive director of Shires Housing, Bennington resident Jeff Allard was able to receive one of these pilot homes, which was recently placed on an empty parcel of land in the Willow Mobile Home Park. Below is a portion of an article on this project from the Bennington Banner:
VHCB has asked nonprofits and mobile home owners around the state to identify purchasers like Allard, and has assisted in the installation of the Vermod modules. Allard’s new home isn’t a mobile home or trailer; It is more of a house. The pre-assembled module was built off site and trucked to Bennington, where a foundation laid for it to be adhered to. “The whole point is to create a home that will fit on a site the size of a mobile home pad, and is very energy efficient, solidly built and intended to appreciate rather than depreciate, like a traditional mobile home does,” Broderick said. The house is heated and cooled electrically using an air source heat pump, a “mini-split” that transfers heat from outside to inside a building, or vice versa, under the energy-saving principle of vapor compression refrigeration. The home is also completely airtight, and was assembled with spray foam insulation and triple-glazed windows, all incorporated into the approximate value of $80,000 a home. Those that take advantage of the project also have the option of having photovoltaic solar panels installed onto or adjacent to the home, which Allard did without hesitation. “We hope and expect that more and more, people will opt to take a really energy efficient option like this when choosing mobile homes,” Broderick said.
To read the entire article click here. To read more about the Manufactured Housing Innovation Project, including information on financing and floor plans, click here.
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