Single-Family Off-Site Construction

Buildings create 39 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. In order for states and communities to reach their climate goals, buildings must make their way to net-zero. This goal can be targeted through increased energy efficiency, and one way to achieve this is through off-site construction. If we can build structures with more energy efficient envelopes, we will cut down on the amount of energy expended to heat and cool our homes. There are benefits of off-site construction, but there are many barriers as well. This brief examines why off-site construction has not taken on a larger share of the residential single-home market, and ways to increase the use of off-site construction in the U.S.