Clayton Homes, maker of the popular i-House, is the largest producer of homes in the country and accounted for 7% of homes constructed in 2011, according to the annual report of parent Berkshire Hathaway. They have a large residential footprint, and their efforts to educate home purchasers can go a long way. So it’s great to learn of their recent announcement of a new home energy label along the lines of what we’ve discussed previously with other builders.
The University of Tennessee recently opened the New Norris House, a 21st-century home that revisits the old Norris community project. As background, during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority built a model community as part of a water works project in Tennessee. According to the New Norris House site, the old Norris homes were innovative and included electricity and heating systems for the first time in the region.
There’s some great homes across the country being finished with the first i-House design. This one, for instance, was built on a lot in Green Bridge Farm, an eco-friendly development of 25 lots in Effingham County, Georgia. Owner Charles Davis won’t have an electric bill with this net-zero energy home. His butterfly roof has solar PV that generates electricity and powers a brand new Chevrolet Volt (pictured below).
Clayton Homes turned the prefab world upside down last year when it announced the i-house, a modern, green prefab with an approachable price tag. I-house has been insanely popular and installed in various locations. And it turns out that the company is nearing the release of a new version of green prefab, i-house 2.0, which will have an enhanced front entry, warm and natural exterior materials, and more interior space to accommodate families.
There's been a lot of talk of the i-House ever since Clayton Homes announced its launch in about January of this year. The home is contemporary, affordable, and energy efficient. Landowners Bob and Melinda bought a 37-acre swath of land in 2006, hoping to someday build a home on it and live the good country life. They're 95 miles from Louisville in western Kentucky and had an i-House delivered just about a month ago.