Connect:Homes is a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of prefab homes founded by Jared Levy and Gordon Stott (formerly with Marmol Radziner) on a mission to reduce the delivery costs associated with modular construction and make sustainable homes more affordable. To make that happen, Levy and Stott spent the last three years designing, prototyping, and patenting a system to cost-effectively deliver prefab homes, and they put their awesome prototype on display at Dwell on Design 2012.

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You may recall a practical green prefab by SMPLy Mod that we featured about a year ago.  This duplex is by the same design firm, SMPL Design Studio (Joel Tanner), with new partners 9 Dot Engineering and Mod Home Developments.  The team employed modular construction to finish the duplex at 133 Moyle, and the homes perform quite well for being so far north: they require 55% less energy for heating and power.

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• Reasons to be frack free (scroll down).
• KISS principle makes for less costly homes.
• Energy Star is the standard for some appliances.
• In California, taking the LEED on building green homes.
• How to save energy without sacrificing comfort.
• Prefab homes that are affordable .
• A tiny house for Master’s thesis.

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When you’re generating a surplus of energy — similar to these solar-powered homeowners — having a sporty electrical vehicle seems to make sense.  EVs and plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular, and I’ve seen all sorts of garage products for charging them.  Perhaps one of the more interesting models of late is this EVSE-RS Plug-in charging station by AeroVironment.  The portable, DIY charger just needs a dedicated 240-volt service and the station can be mounted and installed in a pinch.

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California-based Fireclay Tile today announced a new collaboration with designer Kelly LaPlante to create a line of eco-friendly tile.  The Runway Collection has four custom patterns inspired by fashion: Cravat, an interpretation of houndstooth, Chaine Femme, a nod to interlocking chains in jewelry and belts, Chaine Homme, a masculine version of Chaine Femme, and Corset, which is inspired by corsets and lace-ups on footwear.

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