Owning home is a common dream that when turned into reality can have a tremendous impact on a person’s life. However, a lot of thought and planning needs to takes place before realizing this dream. A potential homeowner needs to first do some window shopping to get an idea of the design they might like, but then they also need to figure out how to pay for it. Many times, this is where the dream ends.
Something that is often forgotten is that the cost of buying a home does not end with the actual purchasing or building of the house. You will be expected to incur other expenses in utility bills and other general maintenance expenses. Purchasing an eco modular home can help minimize these expenses and might be what allows you to turn this dream of owning your own home into a reality.
Environmentally friendly modular homes offer the modern homeowner options to minimize their running expenses while at the same time preserving the environment. This type of house has low negative effects on the environment. They are designed with features that combat carbon dioxide emissions and also reduce energy consumption for your home.
We have compiled a comprehensive guide to help you get it right with your eco-friendly modular house.
Features of eco-friendly modular houses
If you want to have an eco-friendly manufactured home, you need to pay attention to the following features:
Insulation
During the manufacturing stage, opt for insulating material that will be friendly to the environment. Instead of fiber glass insulation, consider using materials such as wool and cotton. These are materials that can be easily recycled and they will perform just as good as fiber glass.
You can also use cellulose. It is not harmful to the environment and it has more heat resistance properties.
Lighting
Nothing beats a well-illuminated compound in the night. The sight is amazing but it will increase your energy bills. However, you can minimize this cost and still enjoy the beauty of great lighting in your compound. To achieve this, use energy saving bulbs in your entire home.
Talk to the manufacturer of your house to incorporate light sensors in the building. These will automatically switch off lighting in an empty room. They are also automated to switch off in the presence of natural lighting. This will go a long way in saving your energy bills.
Solar installation
Enjoy the use of natural energy by installing solar plates in your finished eco modular house. The solar energy can be used for the lighting of your home, running machinery and for the cooling and heating of your home. Therefore, if your geographical area enjoys good sunlight, do not let it go to waste. Make adequate use of it to power your home.
Underneath heating
Your eco-friendly mobile home can utilize underneath heating, which heats from under the floor. This conserves the amount of heat used in the shower rooms and in your kitchen. The amount of energy used with this type of heating system is much lower compared to the radiators common in contemporary housing.
Ventilation
Make sure your home is built with adequate ventilation. This ensures that you enjoy a great caress of fresh air in your house. Good ventilation ensures that there is a free flow and circulation of air in every part of your house from the bathroom and kitchen to the bedrooms. This reduces the use of air conditioners in your home and ultimately reduces its environmental impact.
Energy efficient appliances
Having an eco-friendly house means goes beyond just its assembly. The type of appliances in use in the home also is a big factor. Washing machines, for instance, can use a lot of water and energy. To conserve water, ensure you go for one that is eco rated.
Your dish washers can also achieve great cleaning results and conserve your energy usage by minimizing the use of water. In general, you should try to get as many appliances that are top rated for energy conservation as possible.
Windows
During the construction process, ensure the manufacturer makes use of low emitting windows. These ensure that your house doesn’t waste energy through the escape of heat and air. This makes the cooling and heating of your home much more energy efficient. For best result on the windows, you can opt for:
- Triple glazing windows: These windows have unique features that make them a great option for your home. First, the cavities are filled with argon gas, which acts as an insulator against noise and cold air. Also, the outer part of the glass is designed to step up light conduction from the sunlight, thus decreasing energy consumption.
- Solar windows: These windows are designed to collect and direct natural light and convert it to usable energy around the home.
Controlled watering systems
The exterior of your eco mobile home cannot be complete without a well-manicured lawn and garden. It adds a touch of class and creates a personal statement. However, maintaining lawns and gardens means water consumption.
To enjoy the beauty of your lawns and conserve your water, go for a controlled watering system. This ensures that water is turned on only when the weather becomes harsh for lawns and your garden. Once it has watered sufficiently, it automatically switches off. This will conserve water and minimize waste.
Sewer treatment tanks
Sewage disposal can be a great headache for homes. An eco-friendly home incorporates sewage treatment options to allow for a safe disposal of sewage. Talk to your manufacturer to provide an environmentally acceptable sewage treatment tank that will make elimination of waste products safe and efficient.
Go for one that has a low carbon footprint and has an efficient septic converter. This converter can provide your home with biogas, hence reducing the impact of waste products in the environment. The gas can be used for your household needs such as cooking.
Air conditioning
When natural air is not enough for your home, air conditioning may be necessary. In case you go for this, ensure that the air conditioner is star rated. This ensures that there is a balance between energy consumption and air conditioning. Talk to your manufacturer to guide you on this if you are not sure about the right one for your home.
Building material
An environmentally friendly modular home is defined by the building materials that have been used. The manufacturer will make use of renewable materials to reduce negative effects on the environment.
They will also go for materials that can be recycled and still give your house the durability and quality that you are looking for. Such materials include linoleum, bamboo and even recycled plastic and cotton.
Rain water harvesting
Your eco-friendly mobile home should come with water harvesting equipment and tanks. This will allow you to harvest enough water during the wet seasons and make use of it in the dry season. Consequently, this will slash your water bills. If you are living in areas where water fluctuations are common, this will be a thing of the past.
You can use the water for flushing toilets, cleaning your home and watering the gardens. Your storage facilities will ensure you enjoy adequate water throughout the year.
Water saving fittings
During the construction process, a green modular home will make use of fixates that can save the amount of water used in your home. These include faucets, toilets and showers that make minimal use of water..
Geothermal power
Make use of geothermal energy in your home to cut down on your bills. This type of heating uses the Earth’s heat to bring energy to your home. During winter, it will heat up your home and provide an efficient cooling system in summer.
The installation may require you to dig deeper into your pocket. However, once installed, you will realize it was a worthwhile investment.
Wind energy
For geographical regions that have reliable sources of wind energy, you could install wind turbines in your eco-friendly mobile house. Depending on the size, you can either have it installed on the rooftop or just stand on its own. When there is a strong wind blowing, the blades rotate.
The generator converts the wind into electric energy that can be used in your home. However, this type of energy is only suitable for areas that have a constant supply of wind.
Well landscaped compound
This will add a beautiful finish to your home. Apart from the aesthetic finish, landscaping will transform your home to an environment-friendly modular home. This can be achieved by incorporating trees in the landscaping process.
Trees have a natural way of adding a friendly weather to your home by keeping your house cool and reducing the effect of direct sunlight to your home. The overall effect is a reduced cost in the cooling of your home, especially in summer.
Location
Once your house is complete, choose a suitable site. Make sure you pay attention to the direction that your house will face once delivered. The building should not face the western part. This will reduce direct exposure to sunlight and ensure the house remains cool on the inside.
The site should also give you access to public transport. This reduces the use of private vehicles reducing carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles.
Roofing
The type of material your manufacturer chooses will go a long way in determining the amount of energy you use for heating and cooling your home since the roof is in direct contact with sunlight. Therefore, an eco-friendly mobile house will utilise roofing material such as wood or recycled shingles to reduce the amount of heat in your home.
Once you have incorporated the tips discussed above in your modular home you will enjoy the following benefits
Advantages of environmentally friendly modular homes
Now that we have had the chance to look at the different features of these Earth friendly homes, let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of these home options.
Natural materials
Eco friendly manufactured homes make use of natural building materials. These materials can also be recycled. This has an overall positive effect on the environment. It reduces waste and promotes the use of renewable materials. These materials include bamboo, stray, recycled wood and glass, among others.
Easy to maintain and cost effective
If you have chosen this type of house for your family, you will enjoy reduced utility bills. Since they incorporate energy saving appliances and lighting systems, your energy bills will significantly be reduced compared to their traditional counterparts.
Better health
Due to the type of materials used during the construction process, living in home will lead to a better quality of life. These building materials don’t contain any toxic elements that may have adverse health effects such as respiratory problems.
Preserve the environment
By buying your earth-friendly modular home, you support the noble act of preserving the environment. Utilizing renewable building materials saves trees.
Planting trees around your home as part of the landscape plan is a way of reducing desertification and the use of rain water minimizes the depletion of water resources. In the long run, you support nature by giving mankind a habitable environment
Efficiency
The idea behind an environmentally friendly modular house is to conserve the environment while at the same time delivering an efficient home for the occupant. This is achieved through reduced energy bills, low water consumption and energy saving appliances in the home. When you utilize thermostats to conserve energy and incorporate insulating material in the home you also increase the efficiency.
Enhanced interior
The occupants will enjoy a great internal environment with controlled temperatures. Good air circulation will create a great environment and the use of efficient appliances will make life easy and enjoyable for the occupants.
Reduced waste
Eco friendly modular homes reduce waste through recycling already used materials such as wood, glass and lubes. This translates to a cleaner and safer environment to live in.
Re-sale value
Should you want to upgrade your home and go for a bigger house, your green modular home will guarantee you a solid return on investment. They have a high resale value and the house is likely to fetch a high value when re selling.
This is a product of the green revolution that encourages people to go for eco-friendly buildings. This has therefore created a high demand for these type of houses and can turn into a nice win when the time comes to sell your home.
Utilizes space
Earth-friendly modular houses adapt architectural designs that fully utilize space. This ensures they fit in very small pieces of land, which leaves the owner a bigger outdoor space for great landscaping and garden plants.
Disadvantages of Earth friendly modular homes
With a green modular home, not everything is perfect. There are some downsides to this type of home that you should consider before purchasing.
Internal controls
Since these types of houses utilize natural ventilation, controlling the air circulation in and around the home may be a challenge. You can increase or minimize the flow of air throw the ventilation. During the design process, ensure the ventilations are standard to allow you comfort.
Regulations
Since green mobile homes are relatively new to the market, the labor laws controlling them are not fully established. To ensure you do not find yourself on the wrong side of the law, you might need to engage some legal services, which can be expensive. However, if you do your research you can avoid this expense and any consequences.
Roofing
Eco modular roofing incorporates a layered type of roofing. This includes vegetation layers, heat proofing insulation and water storage membranes. It makes the roof heavier than a contemporary type of roofing. Any repairs on the roof or remodeling may be difficult.
Liability
When using eco-friendly building materials, the aim is to ensure they are safe for the environment and for the building occupants. However, using certain materials that have not passed the safety test may land you into law suits with the state.
This will be a very costly affair in the long run for the user. Do your research in the beginning and make sure your manufacturer is reputable to avoid this being an issue.
Time
Constructing an environmentally friendly modular home may take longer than a typical home since acquiring materials for use is not easy. Prepare yourself for a longer wait to move in and this shouldn’t be too big of a problem.
Thinking of Owning One?
There you have it; the features, the pros and cons of these environmentally friendly modular homes. Isn’t it fantastic to live in a home that’s friendly to the environment? As you can see, these homes come with incredible features and interesting benefits.
Therefore, in case you have been combing through thousands of architectural designs to go for, the green modular home could be a great choice for your family.
All you need to do is engage your architect and get the details of your eco-friendly modular home ready. Talk to the manufactures and together you can realize your dream of owning this beautiful piece of architecture.
Now, it’s your turn. Have you been using green modular homes, and have something interesting you think we possibly left out? We’d be glad to hear it. So, go ahead and enlighten us about it in the comments.
