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.