Unveiling of PATH's NextGen House

On May 9, 2000 the

NextGen factory-built house developed through the U.S. government’s

Partnership for Advanced Technology in Housing (PATH) will be unveiled in Danbury, Connecticut. NextGen was designed with support from Steven Winter Associates, Inc. of Norwalk, Connecticut, and built by New Era of Strattanville, Pennsylvania. The factory-built house is manufactured in two long, narrow sections and joined on-site to form a 28’ by 48’ (8.5 m by 14.5 m), 1,300 ft² (120 m²) Cape Cod-style home. Energy-efficiency features such as ducts inside the heated envelope; low-e, argon-filled windows; and extra insulation result in a home that exceeds the requirements for an Energy Star rating by 20%. Other features include efficient appliances, compact fluorescent lighting, a programmable ventilation system, and a Kosmo water heater that provides space heating via a fan coil. The finished house cost $90,000 including land (much less than a typical site-built home in the region) and will save an estimated $180 per year in energy costs.