5 Green Design Trends for Custom Homes

NuCedar and Hardieplank are green building material options for your custom home. Photo courtesy of Dana Hoff

Custom homes have a unique place in the world of new construction,offering an opportunity for experimentation with new eco-friendly materials anddesign trends that could eventually become common in all newly built homes. Atthe same time, architects and builders need to match their interest in greendesign with the desires of their customers.

“The buyers that I work with are mostly interested in sustainability,in building homes that will withstand the elements and last over time,” saysMarnie Oursler, host of DIY Network’s “Big Beach Builds” and CEO of MarnieCustom Homes in Bethany Beach, Del.

For other custom home buyers, priorities include building residencesthat are in tune with nature and yet embrace smart technology for greaterenergy efficiency.

While energy efficiency is at the forefront of most green designtrends, custom home builders can take efficiency and sustainability to a newlevel. Let’s take a look at five recent eco-friendly custom home trends:

1. Battery-operated homes

2. Designing homes for wellness

3. Smart Home technology for energy efficiency

4. Sustainable materials

5. Modular construction

1. Battery-operated homes with the help of Tesla

The Net-Zero Energy Coalition estimates that there are 5,000 single-family homes in the United States that use only as much energy as the home generates. Now, net-zero homes have been “perfected,” according to John Rowland, president of S2A Modular, the builders of the #GreenLuxHome.

“These homes are 100 percentself-sustaining, which means they don’t need any electricity or gas from thegrid and are completely solar- and battery-operated,” Rowland says. “The TeslaPowerwall is great, but it was meant as a back-up battery, so we figured out away to make a completely off-grid house through a combination of the Teslabattery, solar panels and a net-zero home design.”

S2A Modular recently built a custom homewith 18 solar panels and two Tesla Powerwalls, each of which is a lithium ionbattery that measures about 3.5 feet by 2.5 feet by 6 inches and can storeadditional energy generated by solar panels. Energy-efficient components, extrainsulation and the architectural design ensure the house needs less energy,too.

“In the past, people with solar panelswould have to buy utilities when the sun went down, but this system storesenough power that it would work for a week or more even without any sun,” Rowlandsays.

2. Homes designed for wellness and to embrace nature

While sustainable buildings are important, new emphasis is being placedon the people who live in them, says Ricardo Santa Cruz, president and CEO ofRSC and the founding partner of Mandarina, a community of custom homes under constructionin Riviera Nayarit, Mexico.

“There are studies about the importanceof lighting, air quality and water quality to people’s mental and physicalhealth,” Santa Cruz says. “For example, the homes at Mandarina are designed witha circadian lighting system, which is known to increase productivity and mentalclarity and improve moods.”

The way homes interact with natureimpacts how you feel in them, he says. At Mandarina, for example, the homes aremeant to be embedded in nature. “We designed the homes and the site to have theleast environmental impact and to give users the greatest experience of beingin total communion with nature,” Santa Cruz says.

For example, the community has onlyone-lane roads in a circuit, which saved 50 percent of the trees that wouldhave had to be cut down. The homes are set between a mountainous jungle and thePacific Ocean, often designed around trees or with trees left in place even ifthat means their ocean view includes branches, leaves and birds.

“When you keep nature in mind during thedesign process, it pays off,” Santa Cruz says. “The living spaces of thesehomes can be entirely opened to the outdoors to connect with nature.”

3. Smart home technology for energy efficiency

Voice-activated smart home features are not only a huge convenience,but they increase the ability of homeowners to reduce their utility usage, saysRowland.

For example, in a 2,500-square-foothouse with eight zones of air conditioning, homeowners can easily usevoice-controlled apps so they only use electricity where needed.

“Smart home technology immediatelydelivers higher home values and lower energy costs,” Rowland says.

4. Sustainable materials that will stand the test of time

NuCedar exterior of a beach home. Photo courtesy of Dana Hoff

While energy efficiency matters, Oursler says that custom home buyersat the beach are most concerned about building an environmentally friendlyhouse that will resist the damaging effects of wind, water, salt and sun.

“Sustainable products like fiber cementsiding or NuCedar are strong and dense, which makes them durable andenergy-efficient,” Oursler says. “They’re finished in the factory, which meansthey won’t fade, either.”

The combination of durable exteriormaterials, extra insulation and energy-efficient windows and doors helps makehomes airtight. In addition, buyers can opt for highly efficient heat pumps toreduce their energy consumption.

“The landscaping we choose includesindigenous plants, which means the environment will take care of them and noone needs to waste a lot of water on them,” Oursler says.

5. Modular construction for reduced waste, greater energy efficiency and enhanced safety

S2A Modular’s MegaFactory produces modular pieces for custom-designedsolar- and Tesla-powered homes as well as for residential communities andcommercial use. Custom home builders around the country use prefabricated wallsand more to create environmentally friendly yet architecturally interestinghomes.

“The big advantage to building withmodular construction is that much of the work is being done in a controlledenvironment,” Rowland says. “There are no weather delays and by the time thelumber is delivered to the building site, it’s weatherproof, so you don’t needto worry about mold or anything else.”

There’s typically less wasted materialin the factory, compared with site-built homes. An electrically self-sustaininghouse using modular construction means there’s no need for gas in the house,which reduces the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Whether Tesla Powerwalls and modular construction will be widely usedremains to be seen, but smart home automation, sustainable products andbuilding in tune with nature are already making their way from the custom homeworld into other residential communities.