Factory-built homes may be greener

And because the home is largely complete when it arrives at the site, finish construction usually takes a few weeks, not months, saving energy by requiring fewer trips to the job site by construction workers.

By building indoors, workers can also more easily make sure that energy-saving features like insulation are carefully and properly installed for maximum effectiveness, Mr. Kieran says.

Individual home-building companies may not have the resources to keep current on the latest “high-performance building” techniques, he says. But modular homes can have state-of-the-art environmental design built into them at the factory.

KieranTimberlake’s modular Cellophane house at MoMA is a five-story dwelling with an aluminum frame that features translucent walls made from a plastic called PET, essentially the same material used in soda bottles. Because the frame is bolted together, not welded or glued, it can be disassembled and the materials reused when the house is no longer wanted. The plastic permits light, but not heat, to penetrate the interior. A passive ventilation system between inner and outer walls vents heat in summer and traps it as insulation in winter.

Photovoltaic cells embedded in the plastic generate electricity.

The house also contains an array of sensors that monitor how well its energy-saving systems are functioning.

“We think one of the frontiers of high-performance sustainable design is to have more information about performance, so that we can act on that information,” Kieran says. “As the cost of energy goes up and the cost of sensors goes down, you’re likely to see more of this in coming years.”

Other modular designers are building in additional sustainable features. HOM, a line of vacation homes designed by KAA Design Group in Los Angeles and launched in June, offers low-energy lighting and floors made from cork, a rapidly renewable natural wood. The HOMs range in size from 1,000 square feet to 3,600 square feet and are pulled on their own wheels to the home site in almost-finished condition.

Envision Prefab, an­­other new startup based in Boca Raton, Fla., uses recycled 40-foot-long steel shipping containers as the building blocks for its modular homes. Smaller, simple versions can be used as temporary, low-cost, or worker housing. They feature waste composting, energy monitors for electrical systems, gray-water recycling, efficient LED lights, and flooring made from renewable bamboo. Insulation between the inner steel wall and a visually pleasing outer wall is made from recycled blue jeans.

Modular homes must undergo more stringent quality inspections than most site-built homes, says Bret Berneche, CEO of Cardinal Homes, a modular home company in Wylliesburg, Va. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is in the process of completing a review of green building standards especially for modular homes, says Mr. Berneche, who also serves as president of the modular building systems council of the NAHB. Those standards will help buyers recognize when modular homes have met certain environmental criteria. His company already goes far beyond what local building codes call for by designing in many environmentally friendly features, he says.

Though the building industry is ­facing tough times right now, Kaufmann says her business is flourishing. In partnership with Urban Ventures LLC, Kaufmann is building 104 modular, eco-friendly townhouses, duplexes, and condominiums in the Denver area. “The housing market is not doing well, but our business is,” she says.

Adds Berneche: “I think [green building] is here to stay. It’s not a fad.”

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