Earlier this year, AeroBarrier headed out to North Carolina to begin a pilot program at Volumetric Building Companies’ factory located in Hamlet. As part of a 3-year project headed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the pilot project is focused on both advancing energy efficiency in permanent modular construction, as well as discovering pathways for faster, more advanced manufacturing capabilities.
AeroBarrier was applied to a sample group of modular units to create initial baseline data.
This particular pilot project aims to prove the advanced air sealing techniques can be completed inside the factory both quickly and efficiently, and without substantial leakage losses during shipping and placement of the units on-site. Once the units are installed on-site, the boxes will be re-tested to verify how the in-factory air sealing held up during transportation and setting on-site.
The units were tested before and after the application of the AeroBarrier product using a blower door. The initial in-factory before and after data collected shows a reduction in envelope leakage ranging between 46.5% - 72.9%. More data will be collected after the units are placed in early 2020.
Also of note, the ICC recently announced they will be developing new standards with the help of the International Code Council Off-Site & Modular Construction Standards Committee. The main topics will include two standards focused on:
- Planning, Design, Fabrication, and Assembly and
- Inspection and Regulatory Compliance
NREL is also looking forward to working with the Committee to create energy standards for factories.
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