This 3D-Printed Prefab Home Lets You Live Off-Grid Almost Anywhere
A new 3D-printed luxury smart home with off-grid capability just hit the market today—and it offers buyers the freedom to live almost anywhere. "We wanted to create the most energy-efficient and insulated building in the world…something good enough to get into the Guinness World Records," says Max Gerbut, CEO of haus.me.
The company began tinkering with the idea of readily available off-grid mobile homes that could withstand extreme climates in 2016. Even before the startup was ready to launch a product, Gerbut and his team were flooded with over 10,000 buyer requests from around the world.
The fully autonomous haus.me is powered entirely by solar energy and features an air-to-water generator hooked up to a purification system, as well as a bioactive sewage system for treating black water.
Built in a facility in Reno, Nevada, the new haus.me units will be delivered to beta customers in California and Arizona. Demo units will also be made available soon in the U.S.
After years of research and prototyping, haus.me is now officially accepting sales—and last month they completed their first delivery: a fully autonomous 400-square-foot mOne unit in Ukraine that runs entirely on solar power.
What makes the haus.me product different is how it’s built, says Gerbut. "When someone starts building a house, they usually start with the frame and then go to insulation, but we did it the opposite way. We developed a patented composite polymer insulation that can also be 3D printed into a construction material for building walls."
The superinsulated frame, walls, roof, and floors are combined with haus.me’s patented six-paneled windows. The design reduces the home’s energy consumption by more than twenty times compared to a traditional house, which means that the solar roof panels can provide all the energy needed to heat and cool the home—even in extreme climates.
The first haus.me unit, an autonomous mOne model, was delivered last month to a beta customer in Ukraine.
To meet U.S. demand, haus.me set up a manufacturing plant in Reno, Nevada, where the houses are prefabricated and outfitted with remote-controlled smart systems, high-tech appliances, and built-in furniture.
The haus.me line currently offers three models: the 400-square-foot mOne studio; the 800-square-foot, two-bedroom mTwo; and the 1,600-square-foot mFour, which spans two floors and includes three bedrooms and two baths.
Haus.me says construction permits and foundations are not needed for the smaller mOne and mTwo units.
A rendering of the mOne interior layout.
Haus.me is aimed at the luxury market, with pricing starting at $199,999 for the grid-connected base model, which can be customized to include off-grid technologies and other add-ons and finishes.
"We have plans to make it more affordable, but right now the key point is that we use high-quality finishes, natural wood, expensive electronics, built-in furniture, smart appliances, and more," says Gerbut. "It’s a luxury dwelling and vacation home that you can install anywhere in the world."
Designed with a small family in mind, the mTwo includes two bedrooms and a bath in 800 square feet.
The two-story mFour unit includes three bedrooms and two baths in 1,600 square feet.
Each unit is designed to be 100% move-in ready with electronics, furniture, and decor in place.
"It’s delivered absolutely ready to use, like a hotel, so you come inside and you have everything you need—even the wine glasses."
Customers who don’t purchase off-grid customization still reap energy-saving benefits in the base package. Thanks to the prefab home’s airtight envelope, the house can be heated with less energy than is needed to boil a cup of coffee—even when the temperature dips below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, says Gerbut.
"The house works like your iPhone," says Gerbut. "All of the operating systems are connected to the cloud and you can upload specifications, update systems, and control it remotely."
The living room includes motorized storage cabinets, a wardrobe, and a sofa bed.
The kitchen, hidden behind motorized cabinets, comes with a fridge, microwave, steam oven, coffee machine, contactless faucets, and a dishwasher.
The team has also hidden Easter egg features into the design, including one of Gerbut’s favorites: "Every time any kind of rocket leaves Earth, the lights in the house blink blue. And any time a rocket comes back, the house lights flash green. It’s just a fun little feature."
The home can be equipped with an Orbital Systems shower that recycles and purifies water in a closed-loop system.
The base grid-connected model comes with "standard zombie protection," with advanced locking mechanisms—such as fingerprint and face recognition.
All haus.me models are now available for purchase, with the earliest deliveries estimated to take place in February 2020.
mOne floor plan
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