This Prefab Home is Zero Energy and is a Chef’s Dream

A Home Built in Day

One of the biggest benefits of prefabs is that they are fast to build. While most new houses can take months, or even a year or more to build, Schauffel’s home was done in about a day.

Schauffel’s home is the first one in Napa that Plant Prefab has installed. The homes can be built in one day because they arrive at the site 90 percent finished.

Schauffel’s 1,300-square-foot, mid-century ranch-style home sits on 1.55 acres, has three bedrooms and two baths. Schauffel chose LivingHomes and Plant Prefab, he says, because the houses are designed to be very energy efficient and use more sustainable materials. The home, estimated to cost about $325,000 (the land was purchased separately), cost about 30 percent less than a ground-built home, he added.  

For homeowners with a modern aesthetic, the homes are also attractive. Schauffel’s house has modern, clean lines and a sleek exterior. Numerous glass doors and windows create a space that feels more spacious than its actual size.

What else is sustainable about the house?

Plant Prefab incorporates a number of recycled and upcycled materials into the homes, including insulation made from recycled glass fiber, recycled tiles from recycled glass, and FSC certified wood. “What lowers our carbon footprint,” says Steven Glenn, CEO, “are the decisions we make about what we put into the homes we build, and we are careful about waste.”

Some of the sustainability features in Schauffel’s home are:

• Zero VOC paint for the healthier home interior
• Clean air HVAC units for each room that have zero dust
• An energy-efficient tankless water heater
• The use of reclaimed and recycled building materials such as wood floors and bathroom tiles
• Large triple pane glass windows
• Clerestory windows in every room that let in a lot of natural light and save energy

“We use the LEED program for environmental design to keep us honest,” Glenn says. “It’s a nonprofit, and provides independent, third-party verification of the claims that we make.” Still, Glenn says, LEED doesn’t always compel builders and homeowners to move toward the environmental imperatives that would constitute a truly sustainable home, so Plant Prefab implemented its own environmental program: Z6.

“We want to make homes zero energy, zero water, zero carbon, zero waste, and with zero emissions,” Glenn says. “We care about where materials come from. We want a low carbon footprint for the homes. We also want to achieve zero water, wherein water from the home is reutilized in the landscape for irrigation purposes.” The sixth “Z” is “zero ignorance,” he adds. “The real measure of sustainability depends on how the homeowner operates the home.”

“People have to make responsible decisions to have a lower carbon footprint,” Glenn says. “We try to educate homeowners about what we do and why (during the building and design process). We have integrated systems that give homeowners real-time feedback on their energy use. People need feedback in order to be able to use less energy.” Sensors placed on a home’s electrical panel offer real-time feedback related to household energy usage.

"It’s a place to create culinary provisions from the 3/4 acre culinary gardens and orchards I am developing. My plan is to share these creations at local farmers' markets and restaurants in Napa Valley. I love entertaining and sharing my passion for food.”