The U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored an extensive, three-year study under an Advanced Building Construction Initiative (ABC) program grant to study how modular construction impacts energy efficiency. Professors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Colorado State University began the study in 2020 and expect to complete data collection and release final reports in 2023.

The research focuses on comparing modular to the traditional multi-family site build, specifically how modular construction methods impact energy performance. The study is broken down into two parts. First, it evaluates building compliance. Second, it measures energy consumption.

“It’s a Department of Energy project, specifically in the office of energy efficiency and renewable energies,” said Professor Jon Elliot, a Colorado State educator whose work focuses on the compliance side of the research.

The study compares multi-family construction between the advanced technology and practice of modular construction to traditional builds. “We’re looking at twenty projects in compliance. So, ten modular and ten site-built. Another twenty or so in the consumption side, after occupancy,” said Prof. Elliott.

The builds are across the country, in California, Seattle, and Philadelphia. “We proposed ASHRAE climate zones. But then, through the negotiation process, the program managers wanted to look at these three specific areas. Seattle and California because they are fairly progressive on their energy standards… and then Philadelphia, there's just a whole bunch of modular projects going on,” said Prof. Elliott.

To evaluate the compliance of the modular builds, Prof. Elliott starts by reviewing the plans. Then the team visits the factory to confirm the materials used in the construction are, in fact, the materials of the plans. Finally, there’s an on-site visit to confirm the information when the building is complete or near completion. Once the buildings are occupied, the research will focus on consumption by gathering the data through energy suppliers and comparing it to existing consumption data from traditional multi-family construction.