Clayton has produced a new manufactured home that should stimulate a lot of conversation about the viability of mh’s future.

The new “i-house” is both an aesthetic knockout and a legitimately green endeavor.  I would be surprised if the home is not snapped up by a whole new demographic of homebuyers.

This is significant because this product could expand the audience for manufactured housing.  It also might change perceptions surrounding the building practices.  Traditionally, manufactured housing has been a popular element among rural homeowners.  With that geography, an inference of a certain set of preferences is easily made.  Most of the homes have been perceived to be of relatively compromised quality, especially those built prior to the HUD code. Many would say that in the late 90s, that housing quality caught up with site-built standards.  Alternatively, some might argue that site-built slipped (with smaller 2 by 4′s, thinner walls, and more reliance on electric heating) to standards that are relatively equivalent to contemporary mh designs.

The i-house by Clayton, driven by design and green construction, could draw a new type of consumer to manufactured housing.

Either way, the new i-home is a break out.  Green design is more cost-efficient in the long-run, but often its up front costs present an obstacle to homebuyers.  It is similar to cars: often some of the poorest families are driving clunkers from the 70s.  Those cars are cheap to buy, but they need a lot of repairs and they use plenty of gas.

I like the i-house.  It uses big windows, tankless water heaters, low-e windows, and rainwater collectors.  Clayton says that the whole home can be maintained on just one dollar of energy per day.  Think how much energy this will save.  I suppose that many people living in the Southwest will find those features particularly relevant: rainwater comes in bursts but in general there is a lack of precipitation, and there is plenty of sun to brighten rooms.

Clayton must have chosen the name to connect with young consumers.  I-house is a great adaptation of Apple’s iphone, i-life, and i-tunes.  Did I forget ipod? If anything, Clayton has staked a claim on the name frontier.  Its a great move.

Clayton may soon be making some changes in its own corner of the world.

In conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance will be demonstrating a new pilot program that changes the implementation of Energy Star standards in modular home development.

Among the features are the ability for EPA approval to be made in the factory, rather than on the site.  In the new system, the plant is then required to make sure that it continues to meet the Energy Star guidelines in the assembly of its homes.

Under the new system, a plant is given an Energy Star certification.  That new “Quality Assured” certification is displayed on each home, along with the current Energy Star symbol.

The Pilot Program Registration Form is available online.  This is a pdf.  The endeavor will go on a pilot program throughout 2008.

This will certainly appeal to builders.   At the same time, its very possible that certifying plants, and not individual homes, will desensitize the process of consumer protections.  Some variability in the build that occurs from home to home will not be caught.