Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid: Your Path to Building an Energy-Independent Home Hardcover – October 1, 2012

Prefabricated homes have become very trendy and, not surprisingly, widely misunderstood. What Ms. Koones does with this book (and several of her previous ones)is track the ongoing evolution of prefab home building. Not all manufacturers are the same and not every homeowner wants the same thing. So the first accomplishment of this book is the VARIETY. This is important because manufactured homes (prefabs) suffer from all sorts of stereotypes. In this collection you will see traditional homes, contemporary homes, experimental homes but in all cases energy efficient homes. Which brings us to the second accomplishment of the book; cutting edge GREEN architecture. Koones beautifully presents the growing number of green and sustainable custom homes utilizing factory strategies for better energy performance. This approach is not even debatable - Energy Star, USGBC and several other renowned national certifying organizations have unequivocally stated that prefabrication is a fundamentally green way to build. And this book provides supporting details and sources for each project. And finally, the third accomplishment of this book is the VISUAL reward one gets when holding it in their hands. Not only are the houses beautiful and well photographed, but the book itself is nicely designed and flawlessly produced. It's a touch more expensive than some housing books on the market but it remains an incredible value nevertheless because there is so much well researched information in it. When you're finished being inspired, you can turn to the appendices and find out who to call for the next step. Anyone who even dreams about a new home or a little get-away needs to have this book.

This book is full of nice pictures of wonderful houses. It is definitely inspirational. You can discover many ideas. In general this is not a book for finding detailed actionable information. Aside from the inspiration I found, I think the design could use a bit of improvement. I read this on a Kindle and I don't like having to go back and forth between the body of the book and the back of the book to match the details listed in the resources section with the photos and descriptions of each house in the body. I think a better design would be to integrate the resources more tightly on the same pages.This book was a good value to me for the inspiration I found. I saw several houses in which I would want to live, and I would enjoy seeing even more houses and more pictures.

Full disclosure, one of the projects in the book is mine. Having worked with Sheri Koones to get the data for our project, I can tell you she was more then thorough, asked great questions about the technology, the design, and the intent of the project. The result is a very detailed, accurate and informative snapshot of an ever changing pre-fab industry.For anyone looking to lessen the impact of building, maintaining, and living in a home, this book gives great insight into the rapidly increasing variety of designs, pre-fab building techniques, and choices available a potential home buyer looking for new, better, (sometimes) less expensive, ways to create a very livable home. No longer does manufactured housing mean a simple colonial house with 8' ceilings and boxy rooms.As much as every pre-fab maker wants to standardize their product, almost no one wants a 'standard plan' house. Everyone wants changes, additions, modifications to suit their individual needs and preferences. Every customer wants, or depending upon climate and location, needs a different level of 'energy' or 'green' features for their particular home and site. Sherri's efforts to show the wide variety of designs and building techniques now available from pre-fab manufacturers and forward thinking developers is admirable.For anyone looking to build or learn more about what's currently available in the pre-fab world, I highly recommend you start your journey with this highly informative, well written book.

Well, it's not a how to book... more of a coffee table book with a lot of pretty photos and some decent write up about each place they spotlight... They even chat a bit about individual packages you can buy... but it's definitely not a how to...

This latest book from Sheri Koones builds on her excellent previous work and sets a new standard for information and entertainment in the subject of sustainable design and construction for both professionals and non-professionals. Highly detailed with practical suggestions and real world examples beautifully illustrated, this book will encourage many people to build an energy-independent home. And it will drive people who live in homes that are not energy efficient to apply the lessons of the book to upgrading their home. Much more than a coffee table book, "Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid" is highly readable, enjoyable and inspiring.

I have read most of Sheri Koones books and they all are easy reads and informative. This book is typical of her work. If I were to build a modular house, her expertise would be Priceless. This book has many examples, lots of pictures and is very informative. The book is somewhat repetative, with many of the house examples, having the exact same certifications, energy ratings, or end results. There was nothing revealed in this book that I felt I had to have in my next house. The person who invented the first clear glass window had a revolutionary idea that was a game changer in the housing industry. The idea of modular housing ( factory built housing ) is a game changer. This book didn't reveal any game changing ideas (to me at least). I also thought some real world examples of owners making cost benifit energy decisions would be informative. For example, what is the ROI on buying X's solar panels, or installing R38 fiberglass insulation Vs a higher grade of open cell or closed cell insulation in ... Chicago, or in Florida? Is it better to buy more insulation or to buy more solar panels? Overall it is a good book.