Unity Homes has recently unveiled a prefab home, which is sustainable yet still made to last for at least as long as traditionally constructed homes. The home has a number of certifications, including LEED v4 Platinum, while it is also net-zero energy and can be constructed on site in three days or less. It is also fitted with the largest number of Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified building products used in a residential project to date.
This so-called Zūm model was built in collaboration with BUILDER magazine and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. The demo home pictured above, which was exhibited at the 2015 Greenbuild event, was made in the company’s factory in New Hampshire in just five weeks. It measures 1,620-square-feet, and features two bedrooms and two bathrooms. On the Expo floor, the shell was built in a day and a half, and the rest, including the furnishings and additions took an extra two days.
The home is insulated using GreenFiber Cel-Pak cellulose insulation, which is made of 85% recycled paper fibers. To create the home’s airtight envelope, which targets .6 ACH50, they used Huber Engineered Woods’ ZIP Systems wall and roofing panels. The home is also fitted with fully operable triple-glazed unplasticized PVC (uPVC) Intus windows. The home is equipped with a Zehnder ComfoSystems CA 200 heat recovery and ventilation system, which works to provide an uninterrupted flow of fresh air into the home.
Furthermore, the home is fitted with SunPower solar panels, which are the only solar panels to have received C2C certification. They are made completely out of non-hazardous materials and come with an energy meter and app. This is only one of many C2C materials and products used to build the home.
According to the company, they can build one of these homes in just 30 days yet they will be around for 300 years. They also use no fossil-fuels in the building process. Unity Homes wish to offer affordable as well as sustainable homes, so this prefab is priced at under $150 per square foot. This number could still drop to under $140 per square foot in 2016.
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