the low down on green living
September 24th, 2007
Green Prefab Homes - Prefabulous!
Prefabricated, or modular, home construction is enjoying a renaissance in the booming green building market. Some people may think that prefab or modular building connotes cold uniformity, but in this newsletter we’ll introduce you to companies that are making this new breed of homes beautiful, comfortable, and most importantly very light on the planet! (when you’re done reading, visit this new article with more information about the latest prefab trends and products)
What is Prefab?
The basic principle of prefab construction is that sections of a home, or modules, are built in a controlled factory environment, transported to a project site upon completion, and then connected and placed onto a foundation. Depending on the complexity of the home, designers can employ anywhere from two to 50 structurally connected pieces.
Most often prefab is associated with highly modern design. Modern design is typically characterized by clean lines, strong forms, use of materials in their natural state, and little to no added decoration. Modular building allows modern design to be brought to mainstream markets because it generally reduces construction and design costs significantly when compared to a similar custom-built home. Recently, a much broader range of prefab options has emerged, especially some of those designed using “green” building principles.
Why is Prefab Green?
The primary goal of building a green home is to reduce its environmental impact while also creating a healthy environment for occupants. Architects and builders do this by emphasizing energy efficiency, reducing fresh water use, selecting materials that are healthy and sustainable, and choosing sites that minimize environmental disturbance.
Prefab design & construction offers a number of unique opportunities to accomplish these goals. First, the control available in a factory environment allows the designer / builder to be very precise with material planning and use – there is very little waste left over when compared to standard construction techniques. Second, hard-to-find green materials can be bought in bulk and used over many projects, minimizing delays and ensuring that no “short cuts” are taken due to unavailable materials. Third, this bulk purchasing and the delivery of a small number of completed modules to the home site dramatically reduce pollution from transportation to and from the site. And finally, the disturbance of the home construction site can be minimized because there is no need to stage and store large amounts of material onsite for extended periods. A good prefab contractor might clear only the house footprint itself and enough room to deliver the completed modules.
In addition to being green, these elements also help to keep costs down and shorten the overall project timeline. Materials can be bought in bulk at attractive prices. Skilled craftsmen can be fully employed and can work on modules for many homes at a time. And, the indoor construction process eliminates delays and damage due to weather conditions.
So, What Do Green Prefab Homes Look Like?
Green prefab comes come in all shapes and sizes. Smaller is better for the Wee House by Alchemy Architects. Alchemy offers a wide selection of green materials, technologies and styles in their prefab line. They come in small “solitaire” units or in multi-module larger “companions” if you need more space. While Wee Homes arrive on site nearly ready to live in, the homeowner needs to get a contractor to complete the foundation, utility hookups and cabinetry. You’ll save time, money and dramatically lower your environmental impact with a dwelling like the Wee House.
Another beautiful example of the modern-style prefab home is Michelle Kaufmann Design’s (MKD) Sunset Breezehouse (pictured at the top of this article). Designed through a partnership between MKD and Sunset Magazine, the Breezehouse has a “BreezeSpace” at the center which is situated under a distinctive butterfly-shaped roof. This breezeway or porch allows you to “let the green in” to your main living and dining areas, blurring the boundary between interior and exterior and increasing your functional living space without building more walls and ceilings. The home is Energy Star certified and highly efficient, relying on open cell foam insulation and thorough caulking to eliminate air leakage. The Breezehouse also features water-saving plumbing fixtures, on-demand water heaters, and a mechanical ventilation system that is 30% more efficient than typical forced-air systems. It’s efficient and gorgeous.
Another innovative prefab design is the Solaleya Home. Solaleya homes actually rotate to track the sun in order to use passive solar energy for heating. This rotation is highly energy efficient, provides a constant change of scenery, and brings warming natural light into the living space. The structure is made of a central pillar and arches, giving the home excellent hurricane and earthquake resistance. It is also Energy Star rated and is truly the house of choice for anyone who follows the sun all year round.
One last example for those looking for a slightly less modern approach is the house pictured here from Bamboo Technologies in Hawaii. These homes are made almost entirely out of bamboo, one of the most sustainable of building materials. You can customize versions for any climate zone, so fear not if you don’t happen to live in the tropics! And, these homes are incredibly strong and stand up to both earthquakes and hurricanes. Although these homes are built far away, they are transported by ship, which is one of the less carbon-intensive methods of moving materials. The other environmental benefits of a bamboo structure certainly counter this one drawback.
How Can I Get A Prefab Home?
The easiest way to get a prefab home is to call a design firm that specializes in prefab such as one of the ones mentioned above. Here are some of the other options in green prefab design:
- pieceHomes (Los Angeles, CA)
- Eco-Infill (Denver, CO)
- Office of Mobile Design (Venice, CA)
- Hive Modular (Minneapolis, MN)
- h-haus (Santa Fe, NM)
To find more companies that create and build prefab homes, please visit our green prefab housing directory.
What If I’m Already Building a Home?
Some of us might want to have it both ways – the individuality of a custom home or the benefit of working with a trusted architect / builder, combined with the cost and environmental benefits of prefab approaches. If this is you, don’t fret – you can now find green prefab elements to employ in more customized designs. Some of these include:
- Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). SIPs are preconstructed wall and roof elements that combine insulation, structural elements and often channels for wiring & plumbing in one piece. They are much easier to assemble than typical walls, are very strong, and are incredibly energy efficient. Panel Pros is one of the leaders in this area, with over twenty years of experience.
- Precast, predesigned foundations. Check out the Oasis Foundation Wall System. Foundation, insulation, and interior walls combined into one piece, and installed in one day. And, you achieve indoor air quality and material efficiency savings too.
- Precast or prefabricated countertops. Several companies produce integrated counter and sink elements out of sustainable materials. Lithistone produces beautiful sink and countertop units out of materials that contain recycled content and require low energy use to make when compared to traditional cement-based products.
- Pre-packaged solar PV systems. A large portion of the cost of solar PV installations is labor. You can cut that significantly with a pre-packaged solar system from ReadySolar. Their “Solar in a Box” system comes with all of the needed components, ready to install.
And, last but not least, try to check out Modern Cabana’s line of green prefab accessory structures – perfect for that home office, guest suite or relaxation space in the back yard!
(To explore some new products and services in the green prefab market, check out this new post)
Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living
Comments
Hutch
September 25th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Jason, do you know of any prefab builders in the Great Falls, MT area? I’ve been searching and come up dry so far.
Liked your article. Lots of good info. The stigma of modular homes is slow to die. I’m a realtor, and when I tell someone a house is modular, they automatically think ‘mobile-home’.
Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living
September 25th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Sadly, I don’t know of any prefab firms in your neck of the woods. It makes sense to be honest, for to make prefab really work you need volume, and prefabs are so new (at least green varieties) that you really need a large urban area to get that volume!
The closest places I’ve been able to find are Seattle, Denver and Minneapolis (none very close, I know). In Seattle, some choices are http://www.placehouses.com/ and Michelle Kaufmann Design (mentioned in our blog posting). According to the Seattle Times MKD has recently bought a factory outside of Seattle to serve the Pac NW market.
In Denver, it’s Eco-Infill, and in MN it is Hive Modular and Alchemy / Wee (all mentioned in the blog). Some of these firms build in their factories and will literally ship the structure anywhere in the US, so you should be able to get them up in Great Falls. I know that negates some of the transportation benefit, but I suspect you’ll have a hard time getting all green materials up in MT if you go non-modular - it remains hard even in “hubs” like San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Austin.
Hope this helps!
regina smirh
September 26th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
What about in the boston MA. area?
Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living
September 28th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
So far, I haven’t found anyone specifically located in Boston. I’m sure there are some in the NE area, and I’ll post them if I come across them.
That being said, many of the larger prefab companies will ship to where you are located. There are obviously some carbon footprint issues associated with the longer travel, but I suspect the energy savings alone of living in one of these homes will cancel that out in a very short period of time.
In addition to Wee, MKD and Hive mentioned above, you might also want to look at Clever Homes and Marmol Radziner - they are both larger prefab companies that have projects across the country.
kiki
October 4th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I am looking for pre fab houses in Florida for a news report . Can you direct me to someone in the state?
Adam
October 9th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
There is a builder in the Mid West (Perryville, IL) that builds some modern designs.
I’m not sure if the houses were explicitly green, but I do remember they were insulated at R-38 to keep them energy efficient through the winters in the Heartland. I believe that is twice the normal stick-built house’s R value.
Link is http://www.rocioromero.com/
Jon Van Tuyl
October 12th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Seems we need more willing and astute builders in many areas of the country. I am building a green home in Fernandina Beach, FL. It took me more than 9 months to find a builder that shared my core values and understood my needs.
Sheri Koones
October 13th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Hi Jason,
It seems that many of your readers are looking for prefab manufacturers. I would like to suggest they check the web site of the NAHB which has a listing of building system council members. I also have resource lists at the back of both of my prefab books - Prefabulous and Modular Mansions. I hope this is helpful
Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living
October 13th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Sheri:
Thanks for posting your comment. Looking through the NAHB directory, there are some resources that might be useful to our site visitors. However, there is very little mention of whether builders are “green” or not in the NAHB database, and most of the builder sites I visited didn’t mention anything about green building either. So, I would advise folks to make sure that they question any firms found on the NAHB site about their green practices if they are searching specifically for a green prefab home. We will continue to add additional green firms to our Low Impact Living prefab resources as we come across them.
Also, one last comment: we are pleased to see that your writing covers a wide range of prefab house sizes and styles - the more options folks have, the greater chance that prefab techniques will enter the mainstream. However, one element of building green is to build a right-sized rather than super-sized house. In our opinion, a 10,000 square foot home built with green resources is not truly a green home - unless, of course, you have a family of 12! We would recommend that people carefully consider how much of a house they really need in addition to what it is made out of.
Craig Mood
October 13th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I am interested in creating a totally eco friendly sub division in the Washington, Baltimore corridor. The idea came to me in an article about a solar home building contest held on the Mall in Wash. DC. I would like to creat a living environment that is as close to 100% sustainable as can possibly be. I would like to do this by having somewhat of a challenge by 20 to 30 homebuilders (school architecture and tech programs as well) to build each home to showcase themselves in a neighborhood that will be lived in by those fortunate enough to be able to purchase these (hot commodity) homes. Greywater systems, recycled roads, sidewalks, 100% native plants, etc will be a part of this plan. I would love some direction on where I should begin my research into this dream of mine. Books, documentaries, companies….Any suggestions?
Kind regards, Craig Mood
Diana Hudson
October 14th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
What about EcoSteel - they ship anywhere in the US - including Hawaii/Mexico
Pre-fabricated, pre-engineered, 100% steel building sytems. Tree-free and energy efficient too.
Would love to get your opinion on the EcoSteel product!
Jim Russell
October 24th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Great review on prefabs. Thought I would let you kmow about our prefab housing company, ideabox. We currently build two units, the Northwest Modern, a one bedroom / one bath modern cottage - and the Confluence Modern, a two bedroom / two bath 750 s.f. house. Both homes feature a long list of green materials, ENERGY STAR labeled products, infinitely liveable floorplans, and modern design throughout. Our focus is smaller footprint, simplified living, without compromise. Integrated apple computer driven audio/video systems, professional appliances, even a wine cooler create the ideabox living experience.
Just thought you should know! Keep up the good work! You can find out more about ideabox by visiting our website.
Bruce Evans
October 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Jason, thanks for the great summary of Prefab and the opportunities it presents for a whole new level of green building. For readers on the West Coast looking for green, PreFab homes, a new builder is just coming online. Details - Homes of Architectural Distinction is setting up to build upscale PreFab homes noted for their architectural integrity, authentic detailing, and a green package of environmentally considerate and energy efficient materials. Our materials choices and energy efficiency package make the homes perfect candidates for projects that would like to seek LEED certification. Anyone wanting more details is welcome to check out our web site at homesbydetails.com.
Our Tough Nature » Green Prefab Homes– Pre-fabulous!
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:45 am
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the cyber space › My Must-Have
November 5th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
[…] http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2007/09/24/green-prefab-homes-prefabulous/ […]
Ryan Hunt
November 8th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I work with Turner Exposition Florida’s Largest Home Show in Tampa Fl. We have a show coming up in March and I’d like to get as many Go Green Home building/Home Improvement companies in this show. I already see so much activity towards Going Green.I think this is spectacular. This would be a great venue for Going Green.
Paul Kennedy
November 9th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Great blog. Are there no manufacturers based in the North East?
Shayna Prunier
November 10th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
There is a builder in the NH area that is currently working on modular homes. Their name is Eco-Neered and you can find them through Low Impact Living in the builders category.
There is also another design/build company called EcoHealth Designs in MA that you can find on our site. They work very closely with Oasis Wall Foundations and Panel Pros, both used in prefab construction.
Nathan Zigler
November 14th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I am attempting to research “Green” vs conventional homes, i am a full time student and mason. The main point of my reaserch would be how long (with the added cost of high quality materials) it would take for a “Green” house to become profitable. Having difficulties finding good reasources, any help would be much appreciated.
Christian Beyer
November 28th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
My name is Christian Beyer and I am with a company called EnVision Prefab. We are the first brokerage and consulting group to focus solely on the prefab and container home market. We can take any project from concept to fruition.
If anyone needs information on prefab and container homes anywhere in the US or the world. Please contact me
cbeyer@urbancoreintl.com
Peter pratt md
December 13th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I’m lookiijg to build a 2500 foot modular green home in Litchfield county CT
I am fairly knowledgeable about green systems, have built 3 previous houses 2 as owner and one a owner/contractor.
My address is 96 Benson Rd
Bridgewater CT 06752 and would appreciate an information or leads you can give me.
American Home Sales
December 18th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
You can also check out American Home Sales for Energy Star Manufactured Homes for CA
callie barrett
December 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
wouldnt it be nice to have a central place for green products, they are all spread out, hard to find. I looked here and found that a person living close is building a green home and probably didn’t even install radiant barriers. Installing reflective foil insulation and radiant barriers, no matter where you live, is essential to having a green home and conserving energy.
Wes Sims
January 5th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Hi all,
Great article!
I’m a partner in a company located in the Baltimore, MD area that does modular/pre-fab construction and consulting from MA to FL. We have a partner network that stretches the length of the East Coast and are happy to offer any help, whether that means design/construction or simply pointing you in the right direction. Feel free to call or email me at wes@fusionmodular.com or www.fusionmodular.com
Happy New Year to everyone!
Wes Sims
President/Co-Founder
Fusion Modular Homes
D
January 13th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Hello, great info! was wondering if you have heard of Global Homes International started by Silicon Valley Business Man, Marc Porat. What do you think of his goal to produce eco prefab homes at 10$ per sq ft, internationally first? Interesting concept, he is keeping this under wraps of course and is not even letting people know he is fronting it. He also is the Founder of General Magic/and Quiet Solution, you can look up online.
Interesting indeed. WE will see if he can do it….. He has the backing, but have not seen anything yet. The builders I guess will be based in menlo Park, CA.
American Home Sales
January 21st, 2008 at 5:21 pm
We just recently launched our new Eco Manufactured Home! Our Open House had over 250 people tour in three hours! Eco Mod is the only path to affordable and healthy green living for most of my clients. As a green home designer, I appreciate the affordability, strength, and eco options available. Thank you, Nichoel Farris Auburn CA ecohomes@msn.com
American Home Sales
January 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Our eco modular / manufactured home web site should be up and running the end of January www.ecomanufacturedhomes.com we are accepting orders for all of ca and some neighboring states.
Becky H
February 13th, 2008 at 2:00 am
I was looking at prefab, and modular to find a green home, but living in Texas, every option involved lots of petroleum use just to get it here. So I started doing some research, and it seems that there is a big controversy whether it’s “greener” to improve an existing home, or to build another. In light of the housing market, I’ve decided to work towards “greening up” my house for now.
Tim S
February 17th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
You may want to check our XtremeHomes (www.XHLLC.com). They are an all green OffSite builder of both modular and prefab. They have a focus on healthy, affordable and energy efficient housing.
Elaine Brown
February 27th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I am really interested in building a prefab green home, but most of the opptions that i have been able to find are only available in hot, aird states and not here in Idiana. does any one know of a company that can do it here
Tonya
February 28th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Jason,
Thanks for all the research. This is all really great info, but seems like there is not much of a distinction between homes where you can live “off grid” vs. homes that you can. Any pointers on this?
Reason I ask is that if you want to buy raw land, in LA it takes about 1- 1.5 years to get permits before you can actually live in it.
Orella Desir
March 7th, 2008 at 8:54 am
There is a hugh untapped market in the Caribbean where I’m from for housing, especially prefab affordable homes. It’s quite a surprise that US Investers are not exploring this market. I hope someone will someday soon explore this possibility.
Green Prefab Homes in San Diego « Welcome to Jim Nelson’s Blog
March 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
[…] homes in San Diego areas that were leveled by the fires. I just read an article that talks about green prefab homes. What a great idea, especially in this market where San Diego is still on the higher end of […]
Nora
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I’d like to see a comparison of ecological impact of this type of house vs an already-built home (especially living in a home with LESS square footage). Surely there is still a great deal of waste even in “green” prefab.
architecturalprefab
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
Great article! Check out our blog from the perspective of the owner / designer at http://www.architecturalprefab.com which details everything about building a custom architectural prefab home in the most regulated and desirable city in the US, Los Angeles. Learn how we are doing it for a 2400 foot architectural prefab green home including site costs, permits and details with the factory.
Jennae Petersen
April 30th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
When my husband and I were looking for a home, I wish we had known we could get a prefab home with all the green features we were looking for. Instead, we now find ourselves trying to renovate to include green features and donating all of the existing materials to builder surplus locations or Habitat for Humanity. In general when I head modular home, I tend to think of a trailer or a double wide, but the photos above are living proof that they can be beautiful and sophisticated. In fact, I am more fond of a lot of these than I am my current home.
Rev. An
May 28th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Would like to go green with the world. Is there anyone that can put me in the right direction in doing this? Some of the places i’m looking into require earthquake and cold resistant homes. Would like to make community and get the world green but in a safe family enviroment.
Rev.an.jong@gmail.com
Jennae Petersen
May 31st, 2008 at 7:47 am
My husband I have found a floor plan that we absolutely love, and we were planning on building from the ground up (it’s a new community with pre-cleared lots) and implementing as many green and sustainable features as we can. But finding out about prefab homes might make us reconsider. We were looking at months of construction, and we didn’t want to have the construction in itself have a negative impact on the environment. This solution would reduce that impact greatly.
Andy Boulogne
June 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
The focus of a “green” house is not only to provide a house which comes from a sustainable source. The production of biodiesel fuel has come at great cost with food supply. greenhearthomes.com has been able to provide a durable, practical house which can be built by almost any builder with basic tools. This Greenheart Home provides a product which is modular and can be easily configured to any shape and with insulation can reach a R rating of 12.
Therefore it can be built in the temperate as well as tropical climates can ships 2 to a twenty foot container for under 25000US per unit.
Donni
June 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Any builders interested???
I’d like the idea of green living and would like to offer my existing home site for any green builder who would like to build a model home and show it to the public for however long…
I don’t have much money to offer to build a green home but willing to let any green builder put a model home on my lot.
Any idea of how to find these builders??? I am in Mass, west of boston.
Jessica Jensen
June 12th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Donni– yes!
Go to our prefab builders section here:
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/products-providers/products/Green-Prefab-Housing/591
Good luck!
Jessica, Low Impact Living
Low Impact Living: Green Prefab — Everyone’s into Modular Homes « Modular Homes
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 am
[…] Low Impact Living: Green Prefab — Everyone’s into Modular Homes Posted on June 23, 2008 by gatorgreg2004 It seems everyone is “going modular” these days with the rapid growth in the movement of green prefab design and construction. The buzz in modular construction is causing a rush of new designs, innovative products, and advanced modular systems being introduced. The goal of prefab is still the same as minimizing waste while maximizing efficiency. To learn more about prefab design and what makes it a compelling form of green building, please click here. […]
F. D. Katso
June 27th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Its abot time
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