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Eco-Friendly Modular Homes: the Bright Future of Sustainable Construction

There’s no doubt the construction process as a whole has gone through numerous changes over the years. Indeed, with the earth’s population slowly but steadily increasing over time, there’s a growing need for housing solutions every step of the way. When you consider that, it’s not at all surprising when you see houses and buildings popping up at every street corner to keep up with the high demand.

While all that does sound promising, it’s a whole lot of work to juggle at the same time. Anyone who’s ever worked in construction will agree that it takes quite a bit of time and resources to set up all those structures we see today. Sure enough, there have been various technological advances that have significantly eased the process, but there’s one architectural trailblazer in particular that has truly changed the game – constructing modular homes as both a cost-effective, time-saving and sustainable option.

What Is Modular Construction?

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In the past, the only known and acceptable way to establish housing was by constructing all the elements on site. You take all of the materials with you to the designated location and assemble them as you go. But these days, there’s a more pragmatic way to go about it – putting together all of the component parts in a separate, off-site factory environment. Piecing everything together in such a controlled setting inherently leads to a more efficient and standardised process.

Once everything has been put together, the ensemble is then covered and transported to the desired location for the final assembly. One of the reasons why modular construction is so popular is due to the fact that all of the building blocks complement one another seamlessly, resulting in a unified final product at the grand reveal.

When you’ve got the foundation down, you’ll continue setting up your home the conventional way by hooking it up to appliances, installing cabinetry and decorating the interior to your heart’s content.

How Is Modular Construction Helpful to the Environment?

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Sustainability is an important feature of all aspects of human life and housing is no exception. As opposed to regular construction that isn’t necessarily helpful to the environment, its modular counterpart is well-known for producing sustainable and eco-friendly homes for a greener and healthier future. Here’s a quick shortlist of all the ways you’ll make a positive environmental contribution with modular houses.

Reduced Construction Waste and Emissions

Did you know that traditional construction sites produce around 50 million tons of debris each year? It might not seem like it when you look at all the waste from a single building but if you look at the annual summary, it paints a completely different picture. Luckily, since modular construction involves setting up numerous modules simultaneously, the materials that would normally be discarded on a conventional site can be reused and repurposed for other aspects of the building. In this way, you effectively lower the amount of waste that’s produced, contributing to a much safer environment.

Similarly, it’s believed that construction sites account for about 40% of global carbon emissions, with a great deal of that attributed to repeated transportation of equipment and materials. In the modular world, you’ll have the opportunity to reduce such emissions by a whopping 90% because everything is finished inside the factory and then transported to the location. Not too shabby, wouldn’t you say?

Use of Recycled Materials

Recycling is one of the pillars of sustainability so it’s definitely something that you should focus on. Eco-friendly homes use a variety of recyclable materials, including wood, aluminium and steel, all of which are quite durable and resilient. This, in turn, minimises the need for increased use of natural resources and helps protect the environment.

Lower Energy Consumption

Due to the fact that the construction process takes place in a factory setting rather than a remote location, energy use is optimised in order to achieve an environmentally sound procedure. Plus, since building time is much shorter, you’ll likely consume less energy to begin with.

Built to Last

In general terms, modular homes have a relatively long lifespan of up to 55 years, with proper care and maintenance. Evidently, their key features include resilience and durability, both of which are major advantages in the housing community.

Another notable aspect of modular units is the ease with which they’re disassembled. This makes relocation or reconfiguration for other projects much more convenient since all you have to do is take it apart in the same way that it was put together. As a result, demolition isn’t necessary so you won’t be producing any extra waste in the process. Sounds impressive, wouldn’t you say?

Is It Worth Buying a Modular Home?

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The short answer is yes, absolutely. If you want the long answer with a more in-depth explanation, buckle up because you’re getting that as well.

Cost-Effective

Constructing a new home is no joke since it’s quite an investment. For most people, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence so there’s lots of pressure to get it right. The good news is that modular housing is a relatively inexpensive and convenient way to build your new home from scratch.

Speedy Assembly

This is another crucial factor because no one wants to deal with long construction times. Plus, there’s no guarantee that the end result will be much better the longer you wait so might as well get things going at a faster pace.

With old school construction, you’ll likely deal with unprompted delays due to unfavourable weather conditions at least once and that’s definitely going to put a pause on your endeavours. On the other hand, assembling the facility in close quarters gives you the opportunity to get the job done without relying on external factors. Needless to say, you’ll be saving up a lot of time in that scenario.

Easily Customisable

Given the jigsaw puzzle nature of modular homes, you’ll have the pleasure of customising both the interior and exterior look of the building at any time during construction. The original plan for the facility can easily be changed as you go because you’ll simply remove those parts that aren’t quite to your liking and modify them as much as you want. It’s safe to say that no other construction method allows such levels of personalisation so it’s definitely worth giving a shot.

Gail P
I am a beachy type of person, living in Newport Beach, and oftentimes I’ll go for a swim with my daughter. When I’m bored, I’ll help make package boxes for my little girl’s sticker company on Etsy.