Modular Wood Home

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Posted by admin | Posted in Log Cabin Tips & Ideas | Posted on 21-09-2006

Tags: architecture, design, furniture, green, home, modular wood homes

modular wood home

Building Modular is Greener

Resources are becoming scarcer, the environment is more polluted, and the icecaps are melting. These are legitimate concerns that affect everyone and every industry. In selecting your preferred home, you should also take into consideration these factors which make modular homes one of the best options. From waste management, to resource allocation, to energy efficient designs, the modular home industry is meeting the challenge to e environmentally conscious and socially responsible.

If you have ever seen a site where local contractors are building a home, debris and overflowing waste sits in a dumpster waiting for transfer to a waste facility or dump. How much of the material thrown away could actually be used in other projects or be recycled for future use? Actually quite a bit. In a factory setting where modular homes are constructed, waste is limited to the bare minimum. Lumbar cut from one home will be used on the next if possible. The same occurs with other materials including drywall, insulation, electrical wiring, etc. In addition, the true waste that remains often is handled through recycling efforts. Many manufacturers have affiliations with lumbar yards that recycle wood debris in return for their business. Waste management offers a significant advantage in modular home construction.

Resources are always limited in general, and in today's age of oil dependence and electrical outages, energy is has the largest focus. By constructing homes inside a climate controlled factory, the amount of energy consumed per house is remarkably less than energy spent per house while building on site. Conservation of space leads to conservation of energy. In addition, labor resources are better utilized as more efficient work is generated per employee compared to on-site jobs. And lastly, time may be our most valuable resource. By reducing the construction time to several weeks instead of several months, time plus all forms of energy resources are saved. Each of these makes the modular home industry a leader in conservation.

The other major area of being environmentally responsible is in the area of design. Architectural designs within the modular home industry have truly targeted energy efficiency in their efforts. "Non-livable" space reductions in design as well as making layouts conducive to better heat and air circulation reduce the demands of energy consumption for the homes. In addition, many homes have options for solar panels, geothermal systems, and other alternative energy sources if the consumer desires. While these measures are also possible within site-built home, the factory setting allows these designs to be more conducive to large scale manufacturing. This can create a larger impact in the housing market faster.

It goes without saying that as a society and planet the environment demands our attention. It is appropriate for all industries to consider these requirements and make the best effort to lead in a direction of ecologically friendly products and services. Through resource allocation, waste management, and innovative design, the modular home industry is taking this responsibility seriously; and current measures in place offer further advances for the future.

About the Author

Michael Zenga founded ZN Custom Building in 2002 which specializes in building green modular homes in the Boston, MA area. Michael is an unabashed advocate for the industry due in large part to the green benefits modular housing provides.

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