In collaboration with the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture, Modern Modular offers now a new series of homes that have been designed to encourage Net Zero, low-impact living.

The homes have already won several awards for their impressive levels of contemporary design, energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, resource efficiency, and universal design.* The Trojan Goat was winner of the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2002.

prefab, netzero, universal design, sustainability

ecoMOD: three new home designs, and a trojan goat.

To find the best in modern prefab home design, we look across the globe for great ideas and solutions. And across time. Driven by the idea that your house should fit your life like a glove, we begin with you, your desires and your needs, to then build a home that will set you free to focus on what’s important.

ecoMOD 1 - outIN house exterior view ecoMOD 2 - preHAB house ecoMOD 3 seam - exterior view of extension ecoMOD Solar Decathlon - Trojan Goat - First Prize Winner
  All photos © 2006-2009 University of Virginia

NetZero Living within your reach.

The ecoMOD series of homes were developed as part of a cross-disciplinary effort involving scores of academics, students and building science professionals. The homes incorporate key technologies and features that enable one to practice net zero living. It’s important to note the ‘net’ in net zero, since the technologies enable local energy generation and capture, but cannot regulate the human factor.

To achieve NetZero living one needs to address two things, one is the design of the house, and the other is its ‘lifestyle’ attributes. By lifestyle attributes we mean a commitment by everybody in the household to participate and be committed (with the possible exception of the dog), to act with common sense when using appliances, lights, climate controls, etc. For many of us, that will take some learning and change of habits.

What technologies and features?

Here’s an overview of the technologies, features and production methods used to help ecoMOD homes be ready for NetZero living

Sunspace
Reclaimed bluestone, paving pedestals, steel clips for stone attachments

Green Roof
Green roofing, plantings, soil, stone

Insulation
Spray applied polyurethane foam insulation, blue board insulation with IR reflective coating.

Interiors
Birch veneer plywood, bamboo flooring, custom curtains with Thinsualte batting, glass tiles.

SmartWall
Light emitting diodes (LED’s) tablet PC, glass panels.

Landscape
reclaimed car tires, wire mesh baskets, soaker hoses, and vegetables.

Luminaire
Mirrored dish, solar tracker, glass fiber optics.

Photovoltaic
Use maximum roof space for PV power generation, adjustable PV panels adapt to angle of the sun. Panel shade keeps roof cool.

Day Lighting
Plenty of openings reduce the need for artificial illumination during daylight hours, well into twilight. We achieve this with smart placement of generous windows, glass doors, and skylights.

Cabinetry
Birch veneer plywood, sustainable forests maple butcher-block countertops and desktops, plexiglass, aluminum, hardware.

Mechanicals
Equipment, plumbing, water, air..

Note: Actual feature set will vary from project to project, depending on budget and local requirements

How to get started with your own ecoMOD home:

Our aim with the ecoMod series of homes, as with all of our homes is to take the guesswork out of the pricing. Which requires careful planning upfront. With that in mind we ask that you give thought and consideration up to the following issues:

1. Land
In order to have a meaningful discussion about your new home it’s important that you have land. Only with specific property information can we identify the right home design, permitting questions, and factors like orientation of the structure for passive solar energy use.

2. Design
Which design are you most interested in? Of the four designs developed by the ecoMod team which one your most drawn to? This is where we can start designing your new home.

3. Site Plans
In order to begin designing your home it is helpful to have the site plan and/or map of the topography.

Once you have all that in order, please contact us directly at info (at) modern-modular.com. Somebody will respond to your inquiry within one business day.