How serious is the building industry about tiny homes and going green? Well a giant corporation like Clayton homes is now involved in both building tiny homes and building green homes.
Tiny and green seem like they are both here to stay. You might not be familiar with Clayton Homes but they are gigantic, one of the Wal-Marts of housing construction. This massive company has built over 1.5 million homes since 1934 many of them mobile homes and modular homes. They have 12,000 employees, which they call team members, and have 35 different home building facilities. They also have a big hand in the financing of homes as well. So who owns Clayton Homes? A guy by the name of Warren Buffet. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
The i-House is the concept by Clayton Homes which mirrors much of what we have seen with tiny home and green home pioneers in recent years. The i-House uses solar panels, energy efficient windows compact fluorescent lighting and energy star appliances to cut down on energy cost. On the health front, the i-House uses bamboo floors and no V.O.C. paint, both a common fixture in the tiny house and green home movement. They have even incorporated water saving features such as a tankless water heater, low flow faucets and dual flush toilets. Additional water is saved via a rainwater catching system. Interesting.
They have several layouts of i-homes to choose from with catching names like Layout A, which is 723 square feet, Layout B, which is 991 square feet, and yes Layout C, also at 991 square feet. The homes have a very slick and modern look that will no doubt remind many small home fans of other tiny homes and green homes they have seen.
Having a giant corporation like Clayton get in the tiny home game could be a great thing for the planet. Clayton produces a lot of homes on an annual basis, and if they were to go green it would have a profound impact on the environment and the housing industry. Lets hope the ideas of the i-house are for real and not just pr, as this would be great for all involved.