Zeta to Mass-Produce Efficient Homes

By Leora Broydo Vestel on September 18, 2009

The same economic downturn that wreaked havoc on home manufacturers appears to be creating opportunities for Zeta Communities, a hopeful purveyor of ultra-efficient multifamily housing.

To date, the company has built just one 1,540-square-foot demonstration home in Oakland to support its thesis that high-efficiency can also be affordable.

The installed cost for the unit – which was factory-built and includes photovoltaics, automated energy controls and high-performance insulation – is about $165 a square foot. A comparable unit built on site would cost about $250 a square foot, according to Zeta.

Now flush with orders arising from the demonstration home, Zeta tells Green Inc. that it is poised to cut the ribbon on a 91,000-square-foot factory for building modular homes in Sacramento County.

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