ECO-FRIENDLY GREEN MODULAR HOME

Current Problems : Rising cost of property prices has put owning a dream home beyond the means
of young fellow Malaysians. On top of that, the generally homogenous design of houses means that
homebuyers will have to spend more to renovate their houses to suit individual taste and
preference. Also, long delivery period often caused anguish and heartache to homebuyers especially
if the project is abandoned halfway through completion. High financing cost and the sell-then-build
concept do not favour homebuyers but instead put them in a precarious situation which many are in
despair in finding solutions to their problems.
Current method of building houses are quite labour intensive and with building materials having to be
transported to building sites, it is definitely a very inefficient way of building which encourages
wastage and pilferage. As quality control inspections are usually carried out at building sites, with
such extensive area to monitor, most of the time the quality for the final product leaves much to be
desired and leakages, cracks and bad workmanship are the usual complaints of the day.
Most homes built the traditional method do not incorporate sustainable living features in them.
There is no consideration for using renewable resources to maximize the use of energy
efficiently.  Even the basic design of the house does not encourage good air circulation, resulting in
homebuyers having to install air condition in practically every room in the house. Owners of double
story houses will relate how incredibly hot it is to stay in the second floor during a hot day in
Malaysia.
 Suggested Solution : We need revolutionary measures to arrest the many problems currently faced
in the home building industry. What we need is an eco-friendly  GREEN MODULAR HOME which is
prebuilt in sections/components in various factories, built with precision planning and participative
decision makings by homeowners themselves and then once completed, the various
sections/components are then brought and assembled on site with added eco-friendly features.

GREEN MODULAR HOME will serve to answer the many problems which have been raised above.
1)    Customisation : It is natural for homebuyers to include their own individual taste and preference in
the first home they are buying. They will usually wait till the completion of their house before
embarking on any renovation which will further added cost to the purchase. Usually the anguish of
having to meet contractors after contractors will render such house buying process a dread to
many. With the advancement of technology, however, homebuyers can determine the various
components they want to be added to the modular structure of their house by mere looking at
catalogues. There is even the possibility of using computer simulated 3D programme to mix and
match the design they preferred before building the actual modular house just like how they make
purchases of their kitchen cabinets and modern wardrobes.
2)   Wastage Reduced :
a.    As components/sections of modular homes are built in factories, using technologies and machines,
precise measurements can be made thus reduce wastage from cuttings and trimmings which normally
would have occurred by using assortment of handheld tools. Also, as these factories are making
similar components many times over, they are experienced to make sure all smaller parts of the
cuttings are used efficiently.
b.    Building materials are usually delivered to the building sites and are then left there while
construction is in progress. Materials are subjected to theft and wear and loss due to weather. But
with modular home, the material used to built components of the modular sections are kept out of
rain and shine as they are built in factories. Thus, spoilage is significantly reduced. As components
are built without having to rely on weather pattern, this ensures more timely delivery and it enables
more efficient planning.
3)   Faster delivery time: As all components/sections of the modular home can be built simultaneously
at various locations (factories), assembling the various components/sections at the building site will
not take long and this will greatly reduce delivery time. Also, as they are built indoors, without being
subject to weather and daylight, flexible working shifts can be arranged to further speed up the
production process.
4)   Quality Control : As various factories producing the components/sections are subjected to ISO
rules and conditions, stricter quality control of building material and design specification can be met
thus producing a higher quality and reliable home as compared to current situation where the quality
of workmanship and furnishing sometimes leave much to be desired.
5)   Reduce dependency on foreign manual labours : Current home building methods are quite labour
intensive resulting in heavy reliance on foreign workers to sustain the pace of development in the
building industry. With the concept of building modular home where components/sections of the
home are built using modern technology, we can thus reduce our dependency on foreign labours and
 concentrate on training and creating a pool of technically skilled and technologically advanced work
force.
A more significant aspect of modular home is the incorporation of green eco-friendly concept to its
features.
1)    Efficiency – Due to less wastage in terms of maximizing the materials used in construction of
modular homes (through use of technology and experience), this has greatly reduced the amount of
construction waste material where more often than not, they end up filling large dumpsters and
landfills. Sometimes, harmful waste like paints, rusted frames etc ended up seeping into the ground
and even to the rivers, causing environmental pollution.
2)   Enviromentally friendly construction process – Currently building methods causing significant
disturbances to the soil in the building sites and the surrounding areas especially during rainy
seasons. Modular home construction, with it occurring indoors in factories, assembling the home
takes much lesser time outdoors, less site disturbances and thus lesser impact to its surrounding
areas during the period of construction.
3)   Use of renewable energy and efficient use of energy – Eco-friendly being the theme of the new
millennium, enabling customization of homes means home owners can chose environmental friendly
design such as :
a)    Slanted roof for better rain water collection to be used in the toilets and garden and thus using
treated water only for human consumption.
b)   Use of solar energy to provide electricity for the house thus reducing the dependence on using
electricity from the service provider. Solar energy is renewable and thus has lesser impact to the
environment compared to the conventional energy.
c)    Grass planting on the roof to act as an insulator to keep the heat off the roof.
d)   Specifically designed roof to ensure circulation of air between the roof and the ceiling
e)    Conjugated roof panel for the soil to ensure smoother flow of rain water without causing significant
soil movement on the roof.
f)    Customised doors and windows panel designed to enhance better air movement and ventilation thus
reducing the need for air conditioner in the home.
g)    Specifically designed sliding panel for the doors where the doors will slide into the specially
designed walls to maximize space.
h)   Use of recycling concept by providing recycling bins and compost heap in every modular home to
encourage the use of recycling, reduce and reuse concept.
i)     Use of LED lights in modular homes to reduce usage of electricity and LED lights being non heat
producing, thus will help to reduce global warming.
j)    Indoor wall panel for the home are foldable and thus enable valuable space to be added to the home
as and when needed.
k)    Ecological green landscaping concept can be used eg planting of trees around the house (back and
front included) will help to cool the air surrounding the house and this will help to improve cool air
circulation in the house especially during breezy days.
l)     With the concept of maximising space, the garden in the home can be used to plant vegetable
organically and can even rear chickens for eggs and meat using moveable coop where the coop can be
moved around the garden, using the droppings of the chickens as fertilizer for the soil.

In Summary : It is undeniable that modular home is the modern futuristic way of building homes
for Malaysians. It is definitely much faster, more efficient, more affordable and hopefully in time
to come with more publicity, more marketable to the younger generations of future Malaysians.