Georgia Manufactured Home Gets LEED Platinum, Skips Costly Green Gizmos

Georgia Manufactured Home Gets LEED Platinum, Skips Costly Green Gizmos
Written by Frank Robbins | July 1, 2009 |

read more: LEED, Residential, Single-family

When you think of manufactured homes, you might think of the ranch house with vinyl siding that you gingerly pass on the interstate as it travels on the back of a wide-load truck. You might also think about a LEED Platinum home and imagine a roof spotted with photovoltaic panels, windmill in the front yard, and geothermal dug deep into the ground. The newest offering from New World Home turns both of these ideas on their heads.

This home in Cobb County Georgia is the first LEED Platinum factory-built home in Georgia and the first in Georgia to obtain Platinum certification without the aid of renewable energy sources (cf. RainShine House). Moreover, the home earned EarthCraft Gold certification, as well the the National Green Building Certification Gold, which is administered by he NAHB Research Center. The house has:

Spray foam insulated walls and rafter;
FSC wood from sustainably harvest forests;
Pre-cast, insulated concrete foundation;
Energy Star rated doors, windows, roof, ceiling fans, and appliances;
Low-flow WaterSense fixtures and tankless water heaters;
Gutters that collect 100% of rainwater for irrigation;
Low or no VOC paints, adhesives, and finishes; and
Non-added formaldehyde cabinets, floors, and trim.


New World Home calls the design platform New Old Green Modular (NOGM or "Nogum," if you want to say it out loud). The platform incorporates a holistic approach to historically inspired green homes, whose models are named after famous ecologists. The process results in homes that are manufactured, transported, erected, and finished in less than 100 days. This allows New World Home to have a supply model similar to Dell Computer's where the house is built on-demand. This is different than traditional models where developers build spec homes and have to pay carrying costs waiting for the homes to sell. It's a model that's catching on in this economy.

By building in a factory setting, connections can be tighter and the thermal breaks can be minimized. Outdoor contaminants such as mold and mildew can be avoided during the building process and construction waste is easily diverted and reused. Even the foundation is factory-made, which uses 50% less concrete and carries a 25-year warranty against water damage.

Co-Founder and President of the Product Division, Mark Jupiter, describes his rationale for not adding power generation or geothermal to his designs: "We wanted to prove a point that using a standard supply chain: Owens Corning for the windows, standard foam insulation, a standard HVAC system ... that we could produce a home that uses 50 percent less energy and thousands of gallons less water."

Its a good looking home too, pictures are included with the article.