I live in a little, inefficient box. Ok, so my house isn’t that bad. It’s a little rancher built in the early 80s, but after a few years, my wife are already thinking about upgrading to a bigger house. We’ve thought about building a new house, and if I’m going to go there, I’m going to at least think about going green.

FreeGreen.com offers free green home plans for everyone. Before now, the only home plans I’ve ever seen are those in home and garden magazines (and they cost a bundle). Let’s learn more about FreeGreen.com, shall we?

First, Focus on Free

It’s easy to overlook the fact that FreeGreen.com offers free home plans, but what does that really mean? What does that include? Their team of engineers and designers work with industry-leading product manufacturers to present you with different combinations of products, materials and vendors. They also provide 3-dimensional images, energy simulations, and written descriptions to help you find the right fit for your lifestyle. That’s a lot.

How Can This Be Free?

FreeGreen gets paid from the product manufacturers they feature on their site, and with their service. They avoid any biases by presenting all products and materials in a completely transparent way. Customers can see ratings from established third-party green certification programs such as LEED and NAHB for each product (good or bad), or research performance through their energy modeling reports. Their goal is to make green building accessible to all, and they do that by showing us a multitude of material and product possibilities through various lenses, including quality, health, and energy performance.

Seven Product Lines

The best thing about FreeGreen.com is they actually have seven home plans for you to peruse (aka, imagine yourself living in one of them). I’ve picked my favorite, which one would you pick to live in?

1. Comfortable Cape: Looks like a beach house, but a house, not a bungalow. Lots of windows with window seats.
2. Suburban Loft: Sleek, minimalist, modern.
3. Smart Box: This is the cheapest option, but also the simplest. It looks sort of like a hip, trendy mobile home.
4. Rustic Retreat: The name says it all. This one looks like something you’d find in the woods somewhere, or anywhere in Colorado.
5. Healthy Family: The Brady Bunch could live here. Two-car garage, two floors, perfect for 3 to 5 person families.
6. Simple Villa: This one looks like a combination of the Healthy Family and the Suburban Loft. It’s modern and sleek, but it doesn’t look like only an architect could live in it. Instead, maybe a family in Southern California. BTW, this is my pick.
7. Builder Line: This looks like the work-horse of the group. These houses look like every house on my block, which is actually very encouraging. A green house for an every day person.

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FreeGreen History (from site)

FreeGreen’s founders are an energetic, young, progressive, and diverse group of designers, engineers, and businesspeople. It is this variety of expertise that has helped us develop our core belief: “Good home design comes from a collaborative effort in which aesthetics, performance, and value are constantly discussed, debated, and maximized.” This mantra of collaboration has permeated every part of our business. From our HR policy of only enlisting designers who have a long-term focus on green plus real-world construction experience, to our unique dedication to involving HVAC engineers and building science experts in every aspect of our design process, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to design better homes.

Our founders have been working together solely on residential green design and construction projects for more than five years. During that time together they have designed and constructed (with their own hands) a national award-winning off-grid home, designed solar-powered green homes ranging in size from 700 to 7,000 square feet, conducted residential energy modeling for Fortune 500 companies, and consulted to heads of state on various foreign energy policies.

This passion for green design and positive societal change has been passed down to each member of our staff, and can been seen it is evident in our work and designs plans. We look forward to sharing our enthusiasm with you and helping you create the green home that’s right for you.

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