- Author
-
Teitsma, G. J.
|
Peavy, B. A.
- Title
- Thermal Performance of a Two-Bedroom Mobile Home. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.
- Sponsor
- Federal Energy Administration, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 76-1182,
January 1977,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
mobile homes; thermal measurements; performance tests; leakage; energy; efficiency; thermal insulation; walls; heat loss; convection; seasonal variations; gas furnaces; fluid infiltration; air flow
- Identifiers
- two bedroom homes
- Abstract
- Tests were conducted on a mobile home located in an Environmental Climatic Laboratory for the purpose of evaluating its thermal performance. The heating demand greatly affected the part-load efficiency of a gas-fired, forced-air, sealed-combustion furnace system. The practice of installing oversized heating plants is criticized for seasonal operating efficiencies. Air leakage measurements were performed using a pressurization technique. Separate air infiltration tests using the SF6 tracer-gas technique showed how somewhat higher air infiltration rates were induced by operation of the mobile home heating plant. A thermographic survey of interior surfaces showed how the technique used to install the wall insulation may allow wrinkles formed in the surface of the insulation to form air paths running the height of the wall cavity. Convective air flow through these paths may create heat leaks on the building surface which can have an impact on the overall heat-loss rate. Separate tests were also conducted to identify places in the mobile home envelope having high condensation potential.