Modular Building Goes Green

A new initiative from the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Research Center is helping more builders take advantage of the green building trend.

In November, the center announced the launch of its Modular Green Approved initiative, a process that is part of its larger NAHBGreen verification program. To earn the NAHBGreen stamp of approval, a home must pass inspection from a third-party verifier on a number of elements, including energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and site development.

Until recently, NAHBGreen verification for modular homes was very rare. Modular homes, which adhere to the same building codes as traditional homes, are built in sections at a factory and then pieced together on site. This made it impossible for NAHBGreen verifiers to look behind the walls as part of their inspection, says Bob Hill, director of laboratory and certification programs for the NAHB Research Center.

“The basic program requires a rough inspection before the drywall goes up, and a final inspection after the home is completed,” Hill says. “Because modular homes are not built near the site, it makes getting the inspection a bit awkward.”

To solve the problem, the Modular Green Approved program uses both certified third-party verifiers and employees of the modular-home factory to inspect the home’s components before they are sent to the building site.

“In a modular factory, the third party would be overseeing their in-plant inspections as well as doing spot-check inspections on them,” Hill says. “It works the same way code inspections happen for modular homes in the factory.”

Modular homes make up one-fifth of the nation’s housing stock, according to the NAHB. The Modular Building Systems Association, a trade group for modular homes, says that modular-home builders benefit by needing smaller work forces, having less overhead, and being able to complete a home within days.

Modular builders who take advantage of the Modular Green Approved program can also feel comfortable marketing their homes as “green,” with a definite set of standards to back up their assertion to consumers, says Hill.

“There’s a lot of interest in green,” Hill says. “But a lot of builders say they build green. Green is more than just energy efficiency, but some builders may focus just on energy efficiency rather than the whole thing. With this program, the homebuyer’s got confidence that the builder can provide evidence that this house really is green.”

Builders who use a modular factory that participates in the verification program will also likely save money on obtaining green certification, Hill says.

“If a builder wants to get a modular home certified and the factory is not participating in the Modular Green program, they’ll have to send the verifier into the modular factory two or three times, because a modular home is built in stages,” Hill says. “So the cost of that is going to be significantly more.”

So far, four modular-home manufacturers are part of the Modular Green Approved program. Epoch Homes, one of the participating manufacturers, didn’t have to alter its inspection process much for inclusion in the initiative. Green elements were simply added to the company’s inspection list, says Epoch CEO John Ela.

“We piggybacked on a system that was already there and created more things to inspect for,” Ela says. Epoch already has a fair amount of experience in green building, having worked on several LEED platinum-certified projects.

The other three participating modular-home manufacturers are Signature Building Systems in Pennsylvania, Haven Custom Homes in Maryland and Westchester Modular Homes in New York.
For more information about the Modular Green Approved program, builders and modular-home manufacturers, visit www.nahbgreen.org.