Whether you want to build your dream abode out of timber or you long to live in a repurposed shipping container, we’ve found thirty affordable green prefab homes — there’s guaranteed to be something for you!
There is even one small prefab house designed to help you survive the zombie apocalypse.
1. Big Box by Bert and May
Based out of London, Bert and May offer a range of stylish prefabricated homes or “Boxes,” as they call them. The Big Box comes with one bedroom, but you can also get two-bedroom or studio “boxes.” These eco-friendly prefab homes are clad reclaimed lumber and feature handmade tiles. They even have a green living roof! I mean, who doesn’t want a garden?
These affordable prefab homes are built off-site — the box arrives ready to move in. You can even purchase them fully furnished.
2. House Port – Estate House
The House Port is the brainchild of installation artist Hally Thatcher. Inspired by the steel roofs seen on large farms, the House Port is actually the roof, and the house is constructed out of cubes. The cubes sit on the foundation beneath the large roof, giving you two roofs.
The largest of the House Ports is the Estate House Port which features three cubes beneath the House Port roof. It has a whopping 3,072 square feet of interior space, and the square footage beneath the roof is 8,400 square feet.
3. Greenfab now rebranded to DVELE
DVELE (formarly known as Greenfab) offers a wide range of modern-looking, sustainable prefab homes. Whether you are looking for pre-designed models or a custom-made home, the team at DVELE can help you build a certified eco-friendly home for your family.
They have experience with the process of attaining green building certifications like LEED for homes, Build Green, Passive House, ENERGY STAR, and Living Building Challenge certificates.
4. KODA Loft by Kodasema
The KODA Loft is a 300 square feet home that features one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open kitchen living area. It has large glass windows that let in lots of natural light and help make this tiny home feel more spacious.
The KODA Loft by Kodasema can be placed anywhere with level ground. Unlike site-built homes, you have this unit delivered fully assembled. When it arrives, you just need to connect it to utilities.
5. Alchemy lightHouse ADU
Alchemy Architects’ lightHouse is an accessory dwelling unit, perfect for guests or age in place care for the elderly.
A big house in a small space, the lightHouse is designed to be eco-friendly and luxurious. You will find these units contain the best of everything — from the best water-saving toilets toenergy-efficient LED lights.
6. Alchemy weeHouse
How do prefab modular homes get started? When an architect’s friend asks them to build a vacation home on a tiny budget. Or at least that’s how the first weeHouse by Alchemy Architect was born in 2003 (1).
Since then, many more weeHouses have been built. The modular design lets you configure the house based on your needs and requirements. The weeHouse contains the same energy-efficient home features you find in the lightHouse.
7. Ark Shelter
Michiel De Backer and Martin Mikovcak designed the award-winning Ark Shelter to help people reconnect with nature. Since this prefab home is made entirely out of wood, you can place this modular home even in remote locations. It does not even require a foundation.
For an entirely off-grid experience, you can integrate a solar panel or residential wind turbine.
8. Artisans Group
If you dream of a chef-inspired kitchen in a modern prefab house, the Artisans Group has you covered. Their prefabricated, panelized homes can be custom-built, or you can choose from their pre-designed plans. They specialize in Passive House construction, and their team has years of experience.
What is a Passive House? Watch this 90-second video to learn more:
9. Bamboo Living Homes
It’s hard to find green prefab homes under 50k. But Bamboo Living does it. They offer various affordable floor plans, depending on whether you are looking to add a guesthouse out in your garden or build a home for your family.
These are not your typical prefabricated homes, though. Bamboo Living, as you might have probably guessed, uses sustainable bamboo for construction. Bamboo Living offers Hybrid (for colder climates) and Signature models (for tropical climates). With the Signature model, even the house frame comes constructed from bamboo.
All the materials used meet the qualifications for LEED certification.
10. BONE Structure
Steel doesn’t often come to mind when thinking about eco-friendly building materials. But unlike wood or concrete, you can reuse it again and again (2). BONE Structure’s prefab housing system is slightly different from others we have looked at.
These modern prefab homes feature a steel frame and no interior load-bearing walls.
The spacious living area has high ceilings with large windows to let in lots of natural light — say goodbye to energy bills! The energy-efficient construction is NetZero Energy ready and can easily qualify for other green building certifications like LEED and PassivHaus.
11. Connect Homes
Connect Homes’ modular design makes it easy for you to configure your dream abode for your family. Single story or double, short or long — simply connect different modules to accommodate the number of bedrooms and bathrooms your family needs. With fifteen different models to choose from, they have something for everyone.
12. EcoCor Solsken Passive Houses
Based out of Maine, EcoCor focuses on Passive house construction. As we mentioned, Passive houses are much more energy-efficient than traditional builds. The Solsken is their pre-designed model and is available in many different configurations to meet your family’s needs. EcoCor Passive Houses can be custom designed to unique specifications as well.
13. EcoCraft Homes
EcoCraft Homes is another company building prefab houses designed to meet Passive House standards from energy efficiency. Their building process utilizes precision equipment that ensures your home will be airtight, maximizing energy efficiency and air quality.
14. Haus.me
When it comes to building a home, we are all looking for something different. But if you want a complete house that can survive a zombie apocalypse, you might want to check out haus.me.
This composite polymer frame house is fully assembled and furnished (it even comes with wine glasses), ready to be dropped anywhere.
It is 100% solar-powered, has self-contained water tanks and even features a state-of-the-art water filtration system for next level off-grid living.
15. Unity Homes
Many pre-built homes have boxy designs, large sliding glass doors, and modern styling. It can be challenging to find something eco-friendly and has a look of a more traditional build. Look no further than Unity Homes.
Based out of New Hampshire, their homes don’t look out of place amongst other traditional New England homes. And best yet, they even have affordable green prefab homes under 100k!
16. Wellhaus Wedge
Tiny living has become very popular over the last few years because of its affordability and small footprint. But, tiny houses are different from other prefabricated homes; they are also built to be mobile (3).
Welhaus builds tiny RV-certified eco-friendly homes. Their warehouse build allows them to minimize waste and decrease cost per square foot. These tiny homes may be small in size, but they are large in style — they all feature reclaimed lumber and high-end eco finishings.
17. Titan Park Home
Another tiny home that is RV certified is the Titan Park Homes. These homes are all under 400 square feet and feature one bedroom and one bathroom. They offer a range of models with different layouts and can even accommodate a chef-inspired kitchen if you desire. Their small size and construction process helps minimize waste and cost.
18. Blu Homes
With multiple layouts to choose from, Blu Homes promises you a modern open floor plan in your prefab home. Like most prefab projects, the construction of your home is done off-site, allowing you to lower your building costs (4).
“The general rule of thumb is that prefab construction is cheaper than stick-built homes by an average of 10 to 25 percent.”
Not only that, but the average construction time with Blu homes is only three months compared to one year on a traditional construction site.
19. BrightBuilt Homes
BrightBuilt Homes is another New England-based company focused on building NetZero Energy prefabricated homes. They have nine designs to choose from, many of which look like traditionally built homes. But their modular construction means that they are available at an affordable price.
They use all low VOC finishes and EnergyStar-rated fixtures. You can choose sustainable flooring and install the best water-saving showerhead to make your home even more eco-friendly.
20. Clever Homes Custom Prefabs
With over 20 years in the industry, you’ll be in safe hands when you let Clever Homes design a custom home. They are best known for creating America’s Best Home 2008, based on a survey Better Homes and Gardens conducted amongst their readers.
21. Log Cabin Kits
Did you play with Lincoln Logs as a kid and dream of living in a log cabin? Well, it’s possible. The folks at Confederation Log and Timber Frame will help you design and build your log cabin. And yes, they use all high-quality FSC lumber for their kit homes.
The materials will be delivered to the building site. You can either assemble it yourself or have their train crew help you.
22. GO Home by GO Logic
Marketed as having “understated rural modernism,” the GO home by Go Logic is scalable from a 600 square foot home to a 2500 square foot home. They follow the Passive House philosophy — building airtight, well-insulated homes to help you save money and the environment.
23. Holz100
If you love the idea of an all-wood house but want something more modern looking than a log cabin, check out Holz 100. Their philosophy is that wood homes are healthier and more relaxing. And it seems that research backs them up (5).
“Nature therapy, including relaxation by exposure to natural stimuli from forests, urban parks, flowers, and natural wooden materials, is receiving increasing attention, and scientific data in support of this have begun to accumulate in various research fields.”
When we say this is an all-wood home, we mean it. The Holz 100 doesn’t use any metal or glue in its structures. Their prefab panels are held together with wooden dowels. Don’t worry about the environmental impact of that wood. They use only FSC timber for their eco-friendly LEED Certified prefabricated homes.
24. Honomobo
We don’t often think about what happens to a shipping container after reaching the end of its life. But the folks at Honomobo saw an opportunity to use this overlooked resource. They decided to turn shipping containers into modular homes.
25. Method Homes M Series
Method Homes are serious about building sustainable prefab homes. Low VOC paints and FSC certified hardwood floors are just a few features you will find in their homes. With their M Series, you can even select the finish of the interior and exterior! Giving you more flexibility to build a home that matches your family’s needs is to scale one module to a four-module home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a loft.
26. Method Homes Cabin Series
The Cabin series features the same high-quality environmentally friendly materials of the M Series but with a larger footprint. These cabins are designed to integrate with nature, and you can build them on any site. Available with two to four bedrooms, these are a great choice if you want a larger prefab home.
27. Module Homes
Not only can Module Homes design your home, but they can also help you find your land. They work with a network of landowners and realtors to help you find the best place to build your home. If you want to move in ASAP, you can check out one of their pre-built and ready-to-move-in spec homes.
28. Phoenix Haus
PhoenixHaus offers the Homestead, a prefab home designed with minimalist eco-friendly options. The idea is that you can easily configure the home to your changing needs, so they feature moveable interior walls and hideaway Murphy beds. If you want to get a feel for a Homestead, you can stay at their Airbnb at Powderhorn Ski Resort in Colorado.
29. Plant Prefab
The award-winning team at Plant Prefab is dedicated to delivering sustainable prefab homes. Known for their LivingHomes, these designs allow you to customize your home’s interior and exterior fully. From small ADUs to multi-family homes, the team at Plant Prefab has a home for you. And if not, they can design one for you.
30. Solaleya Pearl
Inspired by nature, the Pearl by Solaleya is one of the most unique prefab homes on our list. While most prefab homes are rather boxy, the Pearl presents a curved facade designed to take advantage of the sun’s path through the sky. They even created it for exceptional earthquake resistance. To top it off, it features an integrated rainwater collection system and a computerized ventilation system.
Before you purchase your home, you will complete a detailed questionnaire so that they could give you a house built for your needs.
FAQs
Yes, prefabricated homes are strong. Just like traditional homes, they comply with strict design and building standards as mandated by the law. Since they are constructed in a factory, every component is tightly controlled.
Prefab homes cost on average between $50- $100 per square foot. This is not the final cost, though. You’ll have to consider the land, building permits, transportation, installation, and level of finishing. The level of customization can also increase the total price of a prefab home.
Yes, you can get a mortgage for a prefab home. However, not all green prefab homes can guarantee bank financing. For instance, tiny mobile homes are more challenging to acquire a mortgage deal because their foundationless construction is considered a higher risk.
References
- For Minimalist Modern Design on an Attainable Budget, Look No Further Than the weeHouse. Retrieved from: https://www.dwell.com/article/weehouse-prefab-alchemy-architects-eabd59be
- Recycled Metals: What do we use them for? Retrieved from: https://www.william-rowland.com/news/item/recycled-metale-use-them-for
- https://www.smartfootprinthomes.com.au/blog/tiny-homes-vs-small-homes
- Everything you need to know about prefab homes. Retrieved from: https://archive.curbed.com/2020/3/2/21142898/modular-prefab-homes-house-build-cost
- Physiological effects of wood on humans: a review. Retrieved from:https://jwoodscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s10086-016-1597-9
