Green building, or construction that is environmentally responsible, is becoming increasingly popular as more and more people have become conscious of the impact that construction has on the environment, both while the structure is being built, and for years afterward.
Homeowners who wish to build a green home are to be commended for making the commitment to construction that works in harmony with the environment. However, for those in rural areas or smaller markets, finding both the materials to build a green home, and contractors who are familiar with green building techniques can be a challenge.
Modular homes can be an excellent solution for homeowners who find it difficult to build green with local materials and builders. Not only are modular homes as attractive both in appearance and in financial terms as traditionally-built homes, but they offer just as many customization options; everything from the floor plan to the green building plan can be chosen specifically by the homeowner.
Unlike traditionally-built homes, modular homes are by design an environmentally conscious choice. From the ground up, a modular home’s impact on the environment is smaller than that of a traditional home.
Starting with the ground, there is the home site to consider.
While a traditionally-built home is constructed 100% on the home site, a modular home is almost completed in a factory setting. For the home site, this means a much less destructive mode of construction. Because there is less disruption to the home site from trucks carrying materials, movement of materials from place to place on the site during the construction process, and much less waste to find its way around the home site and into the surrounding environment, modular makes for greener construction. The benefits are obvious - less disturbance of the soil and the indigenous foliage, and less disruption of nearby streams. Furthermore, because less of the natural landscape is disturbed or even destroyed, less replanting is needed, which means less irrigation, and less fertilization of new planting.
The home site isn’t the only aspect of the modular home that ups its green factor. The construction process of a modular home is much less wasteful – and has a smaller environmental impact – than that of a traditionally-built home.
Constructing the traditionally-built home is a surprisingly wasteful process. The National Association of Home Builders, “typical” waste for a new 2,000 sq. ft. traditionally-built home is eight thousand (8,000) pounds. The cost to dispose of this huge amount of waste averaged $511 per home in 2000.
Where does this waste come from, you ask? Scrap lumber, scrap metal, tile cuttings, all the materials that make up a traditionally-built home generate waste, waste that many contractors simply throw into a dumpster, rather than sort for recycling.
Modular home construction, however, is different. Because modular homes are designed and built with state-of-the-art engineering and technology, there is inherently less waste. The technology of the modular home factory creates a streamlined process of construction that leaves little waste. The engineered products used in construction are selected with an eye for reducing overages. And, whatever is left over will often be used on another project.
Materials aren’t the only waste attached to building projects. Lost time due to inclement weather or other situations create wasted time, time that costs money for the homeowner, and can also result in environmental waste. Storing building materials in order to keep them from being damaged or vandalized means finding storage facilities, which will often need to be powered by electricity or a generator. Getting these materials back to the site means using precious fuel.
Construction delays are almost unheard of in modular home construction. Because the home sections are built in a factory setting, they are already protected from the elements. Furthermore, the home sections are only trucked to the site once - when they are constructed on site. This saves energy, while also saving time.
In a rural or smaller market area, finding home building materials from green vendors can make the green building process difficult to say the least. If the products can be located, they are often cost-prohibitive, or even impossible to have delivered to the home site.
Modular home manufacturers have the advantage in this arena. Not only do they purchase materials from respected, well-known vendors, but they also buy in such large quantities that they can make a green home that would have been out of reach to those in rural or small market areas financially possible.
Building a green home is commendable. Using environmentally conscious construction methods and green building materials can not only reduce the immediate impact of construction on the environment, but can continue to do so for years to come. Modular homes can be the perfect way to build green – no matter where you are.
Tags: energy efficency, energy efficient home, green construction, green home, modular construction