A single wide manufactured home
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), manufactured homes are factory-built dwellings that are at least 320 square feet. They are constructed following precise guidelines to ensure safety and the ability of the home to be transported to its initial and future sites. HUD oversees the Federal Manufactured Housing Program, which is administered in most states by a state administrative agency (SAA).
Lighting and Ventilation
HUD requires each habitable room in a manufactured home to include exterior windows or doors that cover at least eight percent of the gross floor area. Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry facilities may use artificial light in lieu of natural light. Manufactured homes must be equipped with ventilation systems that operate independent of heating and cooling systems and exchange air with the exterior of, but not from underneath, the home.
Room Specifications
Each habitable room and bathroom in a manufactured home must have a ceiling height of no less than 7 feet, according to HUD code. Other areas have a 5-foot ceiling requirement. Every manufactured home must include a living area with no less than 150 square feet of gross floor area while HUD mandates the minimum requirement for bedrooms at 50 square feet.
Smoke Alarms
HUD code states that smoke alarms must be installed in the living area, kitchen, each bedroom or sleeping area, at the top of a stairway in multi-level homes and over a basement, where applicable. Smoke alarms must run off the home's electrical system, using battery power as a backup source.
Energy Efficiency
According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Savers program, HUD was required to amend its manufactured homes code as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This resulted in stronger energy efficiency standards. Higher insulation levels were put into place and double pane windows became a requirement in all climate zones. The new rules made kitchen and bathroom ventilation fans mandatory. Energy Savers points out that while there is still room for improvement, some builders produce manufactured homes that exceed minimum energy efficiency standards, as of March 2010. These homes use 30 to 50 percent less energy than those built to HUD's minimum regulations.
Transportation
HUD points out that while a manufactured home should be built to last at its original site, it should also be able to be safely transported on a towing vehicle in normal highway conditions. As per the U.S. Department of Transportation, HUD notes that the brakes on a towing vehicle and manufactured home must stop the assembly within 40 feet at 20 miles per hour.
