New Prefab Homes Never Need To Be Connected To The Grid

Dvele is a manufacturer of prefabricated homes headquartered in Southern California. Building homes in a factory instead of onsite results in higher quality residences that meet all the latest building codes and offer efficient living space that uses a minimum of energy. This week, the company announced that from this point forward, every home it manufacturers will produce its own electricity using solar panels and have a built-in battery storage system, eliminating the need to connect to the electrical grid at all if a customer chooses not to.

With the number of grid interruptions due to the risk of forest fires increasing, many customers are interested in off-grid living. California is the first state to require all new homes to have rooftop solar systems. Adding residential battery storage will help make Dvele homes more competitive in a crowded market.

Dvele has developed a new building envelope with a thermal barrier that ensures any heating or cooling produced in the house stays in the house, according to Curbed.  The company claims its homes need 84% less energy per square foot to operate than a conventional stick built home, which means running totally on solar power is actually achievable.

The company has two primary goals — efficiency and sustainability. Despite having many floor plans and styles to choose from, most of their homes use common modules, which keeps design and construction costs low. It also reduces the amount of waste created and permits the usage of leftover materials in other modules.

“90% of building and material failures happen due to moisture build up,” the company says. “But with the quality of our materials, combined with our building practices that focus on maintaining the integrity of an air-tight building envelope, we can radically minimize air leakage and moisture build-up. This enables our homes to have a significantly longer lifespan and ultimately require less maintenance. In addition to our material waste reduction efforts, we are constantly looking for and incorporating building materials and partners that are committed to sustainable material sourcing.”

Dvele recently showed off its first self-powered prefab home in Ventura, California. See the company website for a sampling of the styles and options available.