With significant housing shortages ramping up across Europe, including the UK, many are looking for alternative solutions to offset this latest housing crisis.
Recently, builders, designers, and governments have come together to develop new ways to think about home building, and modular construction has become a hot topic. But what exactly are modular homes, and can they really help? Learn more about how modular homes function and how their many benefits make them the ideal home for the future.
Modular homes explained
The concept of modular construction is not necessarily new, but generally refers to homes that are prefabricated in a factory-like setting (versus traditional on-site construction). In other words, modular homes are built to specific standards, off-site, and then transported to where they are eventually assembled.
Though many aspects of our daily lives have evolved drastically, such as transportation, production, and communication, homebuilding has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Modular construction looks to bring innovative and cost-effective methods to the mainstream.
As with the majority of goods built on a production line, prefabricated modular housing comes with several attractive benefits:
- Standardisation
- Quality-control
- Lower production costs
- Fast manufacturing
- Fixed-prices
- Customisation
- Reduction of construction delays
When an entire structure can be built in a factory and shipped off with the click of a button, this makes for a highly effective and time-saving process.
In the past, pre-fabrication was used to address temporary housing shortages, but was seldom considered an ideal solution. Early modular homes were built with cheap materials and weren’t always made to last. Now, with significant technological and automation advancements, the demand for cost-effective and sustainable buildings is on the rise.
The benefits of modular construction for the UK
Figures show that the UK has been in a prolonged housing crisis over the past few years. With many people unable to afford homes and costs of living going up, experts believe modular houses can offset this issue.
Additionally, as government initiatives ramp up green initiatives to reduce emissions, modular homes offer massive carbon footprint reductions. According to the UK Green Building Council, the built environment is responsible for roughly 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint. With building information modelling (BIM), modular designers can reach target goals that address costs, energy efficiency, and carbon-offsetting on a massive scale.
As the need for housing skyrockets across England, the government recently pledged to build 300,000 new homes each year. Unfortunately, these numbers have not been met. Experts believe modular homes could help thousands of people find stable housing in record time.
Make UK’s latest report addressed the following benefits of modular construction in the country:
- 50% faster to build, from start to finish
- 32% reduction in total build costs
- 90% less waste generated
- 83% reduction in CO2 and emissions during construction
- 80% reduction in vehicle movements
- 55% reduction in annual heating costs
When factories control production, thousands of homes can be built to optimal standards under strict specifications. When it comes to averting a housing and energy crisis, modular production may be the best solution.