In spring 2019, DuPont Performance Building Solutions began an innovation collaboration with housing start-up Module with the objective of bringing more affordable, sustainable housing to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Module builds each story of a home as a complete volumetric box in a dedicated offsite location and then ships it to the construction site, where the parts are assembled. Manufacturing the building components off-site, at scale, reduces material waste so dramatically that Module does not even have a dumpster at their site. Those monetary savings can then be passed along to the homeowner.

We helped Module achieve Zero-Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification for its homes by providing a high-performance thermal, air and water management system for the building envelope that provides an extra layer of insulation around the exterior of the home. Together, the DuPont Styrofoam® XPS, Tyvek®, Great Stuff® and DuPont™ Flashing Products work together to keep heat and air conditioning inside. Not only can this save homeowners thousands of dollars in energy bills over the life of a mortgage, it helps reduce the energy required for occupants to be comfortable in their homes. The high-performance envelope system also helps make the homes more resilient to weather damage, particularly moisture that can produce mold and mildew—some of the common causes of building damage and poor indoor air quality.

Module and its building partners finished a four-unit mixed-income development on a vacant lot in Pittsburg early in 2020. The development includes one affordable house, one market rate house, and a duplex.