This month on Modular Musings, we’ll be focusing a lot on green construction. It wasn’t intentional, but when we put together our ideas for entries, it just sort of worked out that almost all of them were related to Earth-friendly practices. You can’t really blame us, considering how big of an influence green building methods have on today’s construction and how important green practices are to Excel Homes.

Our first green observation comes from the Earth Advantage Institute, which last month released its list of 10 green trends to watch for in 2010. Below are four trends that caught the attention of Excel’s designers.

• Smart grids and connected homes – In-home displays will show real-time home energy use, both overall and by individual appliance. That’s smart because you can’t fix what you can’t see.
• “Rightsizing” of homes – Smaller homes have become a more attractive option and it looks like that trend will continue into 2010. We predict it will extend well beyond the current year, as it goes hand-in-hand with the green movement, which we all know isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
• Net zero buildings – These über green houses generate more energy than they use over the course of the year, allowing some homeowners to sell unused energy back to the electric company.
• Financial community buy-in to green building – Lenders and insurers are finally seeing the light when it comes to green construction and will continue offering lower interest rates and more affordable insurance packages to green homeowners. That’s green saving green, which is always a good thing.

In a growing trend, Habitat for Humanity chapters throughout the nation have been turning to modular housing to fill the need for durable and affordable housing built fast.

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake in Baltimore is using modular homes to fill a vacant lot in East Baltimore. Another perk inner city Habitat chapters are realizing is that modular construction can be used to fill narrow vacant lots quickly and more efficiently than stick-built construction methods.

The excerpt below from the Baltimore Sun summarizes one of the biggest benefits of modular construction: shorter construction schedules.

Habitat expects that all nine houses will be in place by Saturday morning. The painting, landscaping and other finishing work will be done by volunteers over nine days, the last scheduled in October.

Compared to the rowhouse renovations that Habitat typically does in Baltimore, that’s light speed.

Today’s entry on the Excel Drawing Board takes a page out of the Frank Lloyd Wright playbook and his prairie style designs. It’s one of the homes in our Starting Line Up series, a collection of smaller homes with all the style of what is typically found in a larger floor plan designed specifically with the first-time home buyer in mind.

The Excel Drawing Board is a blog showcasing some of Excel’s more forward-thinking designs, which readers are encouraged to comment on. Check out today’s entry for yourself and let us know what you think.

Building your first new home doesn’t have to be difficult, and with the new Excel Homes Starting Lineup series, it isn’t. The Starting Lineup series features smaller homes with all the style of what is typically found in a larger floor plan and is designed specifically with the first-time homebuyer in mind. These basic homes can be shipped on a single carrier and the completion of the home is simple enough that in most cases, it can be finished by the set crew.

All renderings are for illustration purposes only. See engineering documentation for specific configuration.

Inspired by the prairie style designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Prairie View is an open plan with spaces defined by the manipulation of the floor and ceiling rather than walls in most cases. This modern design gives the impression that the lower unit is connected to the upper unit by only a ribbon of glass. When combined with builder constructed leveled decks, the lines between indoors and outside are blurred, creating larger space that makes the home a part of nature. This home is perfect for locations such as waterfront property or sites with grand views.

The Prairie View uses large windows and lots of glass to bring the outdoors inside. Murphy beds and hideaways could sleep six to eight adults comfortably.

SPECIFICATIONS:

SQ FOOTAGE: 945 sq. ft.
# BEDROOMS: 1
# BATHROOMS: 1
SPECIAL FEATURES: Designed to accommodate one to eight adults; modern design with long, low features help it blend with the natural environment, weather-tight set service included in standard cost
MISC: Inspired by the prairie style designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. Home is shipped ENERGY STAR and green ready.

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Over the past year, our product guide, which is used by builders to help home buyers choose the many interior options of their future home, has undergone a remodeling like never before.

The old product guide was simply a collection of brochures in a binder. There were brochures for Merrilat and Wellborn cabinets, Corian and Silestone countertops, Kohler bath fixtures, Armstrong flooring, and KitchenAid appliances, as well as dozens of brochures for various windows, doors, lighting and fireplace options.

Just like your grandfather’s table saw, the old product guide got the job done, but it was time for an upgrade.

Enter the new product guide. The updated guide also showcases our many interior and exterior options – from Anderson to Pella to Whirlpool – but it also fits within the new look and direction of Excel Homes. The table of contents was revised, an ENERGY STAR section was added, and the paper quality was improved to give the guide a longer shelf life. Images were updated, options were clearly labeled as “standard” or “upgrade,” and the “About Us” page for each supplier was enhanced.

Overall, it’s simply a much better guide and it’s yet another example of Excel’s commitment to continuous improvement. To view our suppliers’ updated product guide pages, visit the Products & Programs page of the Excel website.

Coach (aka ModCoach) is the mind behind the blog, Modular Home Builder, which paved the way for blogs like ours. In a January 24 entry, Coach offered praise to Excel Homes for the three new initiatives we unveiled in the past year. In a more recent entry, Coach took note of some of our designs for rest facilities.

Thanks, Coach! It’s always nice when people take notice of the things you’re doing to improve your company and your product. And to return the favor, to anyone interested in modular construction we’d recommend adding Coach’s blog to your reading list.

Today’s entry on the Excel Drawing Board is a small bungalow that draws its inspiration from the kit homes of the 1940s. It’s one of the homes in our Starting Line Up series, a collection of smaller homes with all the style of what is typically found in a larger floor plan, designed specifically with the first-time home buyer in mind.

The Excel Drawing Board is a blog showcasing some of Excel’s more forward-thinking designs, which readers are encouraged to comment on. Check out today’s entry for yourself and let us know what you think.

Building your first new home doesn’t have to be difficult, and with the new Excel Homes Starting Lineup series, it isn’t. The Starting Lineup series features smaller homes with all the style of what is typically found in a larger floor plan and is designed specifically with the first-time homebuyer in mind. These basic homes can be shipped on a single carrier and the completion of the home is simple enough that in most cases, it can be finished by the set crew.

All renderings are for illustration purposes only. See engineering documentation for specific configuration.

The Craftsman Bungalow harkens to the simple designs of the Sears kit homes from the 1930s and ‘40s. These proven plans were widely built more than half a century ago but are still widely sought after and treasured by homeowners today. The Craftsman Bungalow of this series makes se of the basic plan and characteristics of that beloved style, but opens the kitchen, living room and dining areas for a more modern open living space.

The Craftsman Bungalow is designed as a starter home or a simple guest cottage and offers high quality amenities at an economical cost point. The standard home comes complete with many upgrade options as standard features, including hardwood floors, hard surface countertops, mission style trim and a whole house fan.

SPECIFICATIONS:

SQ FOOTAGE: 771 sq. ft.
# BEDROOMS: 2
# BATHROOMS: 1
SPECIAL FEATURES: Designed to be simple and easily set to reduce cost, weather-tight set service included in standard cost
MISC: Great narrow lot design and starter home; can used for disaster housing or Habitat projects. Home is shipped ENERGY STAR and green ready.

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Please feel free to comment on this design by leaving a comment below.