Goodfield home builder honored for 'green' design

11/7/2009 6:38:00 PM
By: Eric Stock    

A local modular home builder is getting worldwide acclaim for its advances in energy efficiency. Homeway Homes of Goodfield placed second in the International Solar Decathalon in Washington. It teamed with the University of Illinois' School of Architecture to create a home that you could heat with a hair dryer.



Project Manager Steve Venden says the students determined the thickness of foam necessary to make the home actually generate more energy in a year than it uses.

Venden says the company is one of the few in the Midwest that exclusively uses foam spray insulation - instead of fiberglass. It's more expensive than fiberglass, but Venden says if you plan to own the home for seven years - you'll recoup the costs in lower energy bills. The home uses renewable bamboo on the walls and its exterior was made of reclaimed wood from a barn. It was on display for three weeks on the National Mall in Washington.

More information is available at www.solardecathalon.org.

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