Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid: Your Path to Building an Energy-Independent Home

by Sheri Koones, Robert Redford (Foreword)

Prefabrication offers a simple path to the green home of your dreams, and in her latest book, Prefabulous author Sheri Koones highlights the many ways of using prefabrication to create almost-off-the-grid homes―houses that are not only environmentally friendly but often operate at nearly zero annual energy cost.
Taking energy from the grid when necessary and returning any excess energy produced, almost-off-the-grid homes function on a fraction of the energy required by most houses, and additionally are more comfortable, healthier, quieter inside, and far cheaper to operate. As energy costs continue to rise, the almost-off-the-grid house proves its worth.
Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid profiles more than 30 of the most energy-efficient homes in the United States, and this hardworking guide reveals how homeowners can achieve similar results with floor plans, the latest, most efficient technologies, and multiple images of the exterior and interior of each home.

Praise for Prefabulous + Almost Off the

Recipient of the 2013 Robert Bruss Gold Book Award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE)

“You can build a high quality, environmentally friendly and efficient home at a reasonable price with a look and feel of a traditional home. Advancements like those used in our house and the other houses in this book will transform the homebuilding industry.” ―Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

“The time has come to throw out the old stereotypes and to embrace prefab building techniques as the way of the future―and the best approach for today. For anyone wanting to create a house that’s sustainable in every sense of the word, this book is an excellent place to start.” ―Sarah Susanka, architect and author of The Not So Big House series

“I'm passionate about prefab because I know that it can spark an incredibly positive change in the building industry and dramatically reduce costs and construction duration. Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid is an enlightening guide on using prefab to create your own affordable, energy-efficient home.” ―Bruce Ratner, chairman and chief executive of the Forest City Ratner Companies

“Sheri Koones highlights the many ways of using prefabrication to create almost-off-the-grid homes that are not only environmentally friendly but often operate at nearly zero annual energy cost. . . . This is an easy-on-the-eyes guide that includes floor plans and multiple images of the exterior and interior of each home. It is not a manual for green construction, but a general overview of aspects of prefab and green construction. And it does that well.” ― Natural Life magazine

“If you’re ready to do something about your energy dependence, or if you enjoy stories of people who’ve bucked the trends, you owe it to yourself to give Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid a look. Beautifully illustrated, it ends with a great resources list for the homes showcased.” ―Examiner.com

“Indispensable guide to creating the ideal, almost-off-the-grid home. . . . This text is both timely and tempting to anyone interested in inhabiting a more comfortable and cost-efficient abode.” ― Bask

“This attractive coffee-table-style book, the third in Koones’s Prefabulous series, features 32 prefabricated houses that, to a greater or lesser extent, boast environmentally friendly, efficient, and renewable-energy elements.” ― Publishers Weekly

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Design, Sustainability, Green

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Stephie Jane Rexroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regardless of personal sensibilities, every reader will find a handful of the 30+ case-studies that they can envision as potential homes while learning about the newest energy-independent technologies in the process. Highlights a nice variety of architectural styles, construction materials, sustainable techniques, energy and water conservation processes (appropriate for a range of regional climate conditions) and locations (including those secluded in the wilderness as well as those in-filling a lot in an established city neighborhood).

I particularly appreciated the informational layout of this book. Instead of the typical glossary of industry-specific terms at the end of the book, each case study introduced 2-3 new terms in a blue call-out section that were pertinent to the house discussed. Having little prior knowledge, I was so familiar with all the green building jargon by the end of the book that I could breeze through the bullet-lists of green and energy aspects of each home.

Prefabulous has a great mix of gorgeous photography paired with substantial content in multiple formats. Typically disliking picture books because of all the visual distractions, I found that I developed a loose system for absorbing all the content. First, I would scan the home specs and floorplan, then look over all the photos and read their respective captions, next read the blue call-out sections for explanations of new green building terms and finally go back and read the article about the home from start-to-finish. With this method, I found it to be a pleasure to read.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent sequel to the original Prefabulous, this book focuses more specifically on - as the title says - energy-independent homes. There's a fair amount of overlap with the first book, but this theme is worth the more in-depth exploration. As with the first volume, this is well illustrated and covers a variety of styles of home suited to different environments and lifestyles. If you're thinking about your options for home construction, this is very much worth reading.

[Jenny Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, modern, quality ideas. Definitely the way building should go as it is more economical, energy efficient and progressive.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting solutions to unique site situations.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of cool house and how to be as energy efficient as possible.

[Yasha]

690.8047 Koones

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheri Koones makes a pretty strong argument for building an eco-friendly house with prefab elements. My personal fave was (paraphrasing) you don't let some random person with tools build your car in your driveway, why would you let them build your house on site? It IS one of (if not THE) most important & expensive purchases you will ever make. It's so much better for us & our planet if we do it right the first time.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a variety of house styles and floorplans. The write-ups are very specific to the homes listed but there are blurbs that detail different eco-friendly options that you can explore for use in your own home. Overall I like the book and think it is a good place to start or continue your research on eco-friendly homes. The variety of floorplans is my favorite part of the book.

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid was interesting, but it does require a shift in thinking on the reader’s part. At this point, it seems these type of homes are more expensive to build than a conventional home. I’m also curious if it’s worthwhile to tear down an already-built home that doesn’t have historical value and replace it with one that is prefab and more efficient.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only liked a few of the houses, however the information in the book made up for that. There are blue side panels throughout the book with ideas of how to incorporate environmental practices, new and more energy efficient technologies, and the like into your project.

[Deuce Bigelow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice floorplans to compare and contrast. Most of the decorating is way to modern for my tastes, but
I picked up the book for the ideas and layouts, not the decor.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas for smaller homes.

[Sarah left GR]

Read an article about one of the homes featured in this book - Donna & Riley Shirey's Zero Energy Idea House.

[TheRLPL Rice Lake Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patron Review:

Informative but I was disappointed that the homes were very large. Few were 1200 sq. ft. or less. Materials and labor would be costly. Not readily affordable.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures, informative read, but my favorite part was all the floor plans.

[Jess Dollar]

Inspiring!