Organizing Residential Utilities: A New Approach to Housing Quality Organizing Residential Utilities: A New Approach to Housing Quality Prepared for: Prepared by: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Richard Topping Development Tyson Lawrence Office of Policy Development and Research Justin Spencer Washington, DC TIAX LLC Cambridge, Massachusetts and Kent Larson November 2004 TJ McLeish The House_n Research Group Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Acknowledgements The authors would like to recognize the advisory team, which helped contribute to the industry background and provided review of concepts. The advisory team included Tedd Benson, Bensonwood Homes; Ray Cudwadie, Deluxe Homes; Al Marzullo, TKG East Engineering; John Tocci, Tocci Building; Nelson Oliveira, Nelson Group Construction; Ling Yi Liu, Oak Tree Development; Jim Petersen, Pulte Home Sciences; Randy Luther, Centex Homes; Hiroshi Abe, Seki Sui Homes; Ari Griffner, Griffner-Haus; and John Benson, Meadwestvaco. Thanks also to Christine Murner, GE Plastics, for providing a tour of the Living Environments House. The authors would also like to thank David Dacquisto, Newport Partners; Mark Nowak, Newport Partners; Michael Crosbie, Ph.D., RA, Steven Winter Associates; and Ron Wakefield, Ph.D., Virginia Tech, for providing review and discussion via teleconference during the literature review. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help and guidance provided by Mike Blanford and Luis Borray from HUD. Disclaimer The statements and conclusions contained in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of the U.S. Government. The authors have made every effort to verify the accuracy and appropriateness of the report’s content. However, no guarantee of the accuracy or completeness of the information or acceptability for compliance with any industry standard or mandatory requirement of any code, law, or regulation is either offered or implied. The products and systems described in the report are included only as examples of some available choices. No endorsement, recommendation, or evaluation of these products or their use is given or implied. Table of Contents 1 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 DEFINITION OF TERMS........................................................................................................... 1 1.3 PROBLEM DEFINITION ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.5 SYNOPSIS OF FINDINGS.......................................................................................................... 3 2 REVIEW OF ENTANGLEMENT ...................................................................................................6 2.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTANGLEMENT OVER TIME............................................................ 6 2.2 EFFORTS AT DISENTANGLING PAST AND PRESENT ................................................................ 8 2.2.1 Selected Historical Whole House Efforts ......................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Open Building Concept .................................................................................................. 10 2.2.3 Disentangling Utilities in Europe and Asia.................................................................... 11 2.2.4 The U.S. Process to Manage Entanglement ................................................................... 12 2.2.5 Technology Improvements in the U.S............................................................................. 12 2.2.6 Communication Tools to Aid Disentangling................................................................... 13 2.2.7 Database of Technologies and Components for Disentangling Utilities........................ 13 2.3 THE CURRENT STATE OF UTILITY SYSTEMS........................................................................ 14 2.3.1 Structure......................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Electricity Distribution................................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Data Distribution ........................................................................................................... 16 2.3.4 Water Distribution and Sewerage .................................................................................. 16 2.3.5 HVAC Distribution......................................................................................................... 17 2.3.6 Gas Distribution............................................................................................................. 18 2.4 BUILDING SYSTEMS IN USE TODAY..................................................................................... 18 2.4.1 Stick-Built Homes........................................................................................................... 19 2.4.2 Panelized Construction .................................................................................................. 19 2.4.3 Modular Homes.............................................................................................................. 20 2.4.4 Manufactured Housing................................................................................................... 21 3 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF ENTANGLEMENT IN HOUSING............................................22 3.1 PHYSICAL SITUATION AND BARRIERS: MAPPING FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION .................... 22 3.1.1 Delivery Model............................................................................................................... 22 3.1.2 Construction Model........................................................................................................ 23 3.1.3 Interaction Model........................................................................................................... 24 3.2 STAKEHOLDERS: UTILITY DISENTANGLEMENT VIEWED FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES .. 24 3.2.1 The Site-Based Builder of Speculative Generic Homes (Merchant Builders) ................ 25 3.2.2 The Site-Based Builder of Custom Homes...................................................................... 27 3.2.3 The Factory-Based Builder of Custom Homes ............................................................... 28 3.2.4 The Factory-Based Builder of Generic Homes .............................................................. 29 3.2.5 The Component Manufacturer’s Perspective ................................................................. 29 3.2.6 The Alteration Contractor’s Perspective........................................................................ 30 3.2.7 The Subcontractors Perspective..................................................................................... 30 3.2.8 Considerations in the Business Case for Disentanglement ............................................ 31 3.3 MARKETPLACE AND INDUSTRY SITUATION AND BARRIERS TO INNOVATION ...................... 32 3.3.1 General Marketplace Barriers ....................................................................................... 32 3.3.2 Industry Specific Barriers............................................................................................... 33 4 FUTURE STRATEGIES FOR DISENTANGLING UTILITIES ...............................................35 iii 4.1 REVIEW OF POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND EMERGING NEEDS ........................................ 35 4.2 A PROPOSED DIRECTION..................................................................................................... 36 4.3 SCENARIO (HOUSING INDUSTRY IN 2015) ........................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Scenario: Developers and Integrators-Part I................................................................. 37 4.3.2 Scenario: Design, Configuration, and Industry Standards-Part II ................................ 38 4.3.3 Scenario: Fabrication and Utility Integration-Part III .................................................. 38 4.3.4 Scenario: Installation-Part IV........................................................................................ 39 4.4 CAPTURING THE VALUE OF DISENTANGLEMENT................................................................. 39 4.4.1 Initial Construction ........................................................................................................ 40 4.4.2 Code Changes ................................................................................................................ 42 4.4.3 Renovation and Repair................................................................................................... 43 4.5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENCOURAGE DISENTANGLED HOME SYSTEMS ............................. 44 4.5.1 Builders as Integrators for Mass Customization............................................................ 45 4.5.2 Building Objects and Software....................................................................................... 47 4.5.3 Separate Building Layers and Decoupled Spaces for Utilities......................................