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Momo Homes, LLC
701 5th Avenue
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Phone +1 (206) 651-4097

Momo Alpenumbra 30 Exterior Back View.

The Earth spins at 1,000 mph — your home should grip it tight

Written by Jeff Williams on . Posted in Uncategorized.

To be clear, a thousand miles per hour is how fast the Earth spins near the equator. In most of the United States, it’s around 700 mph, give or take. 

Still, that’s pretty fast.* So it doesn’t make sense that your home rides a flat slab of concrete. Especially given the way concrete slabs can sink, buckle, crack, break, and slide. It doesn’t make sense to us, anyway. We think homes ought to have a firm grip on the surface of the planet. 

That’s why ours do. 

Momo’s 100-percent-steel Surefoot system works like a tree’s deep root network, securely connecting our foundation to the earth while resisting gravity, uplift, shear, and moment load (a rotational force).

The Surefoot system (AKA the “metal tree stump”) spreads its footing over a greater

surface area than the standard foundations used in stick-and-brick homes, achieving larger load capacities faster and more cost-effectively.

Even better, Surefoot footings provide a stable base in any penetrable soil: sands, silts, clays, small gravels, and even solid rock.

Best of all, a builder can install a Surefoot in about half the time of a conventional

foundation. Which saves them time and you money. 

And nobody goes whirling into space. 

*FYI: It’s about the speed of the fastest-ever land vehicle, the Thrust SSC, which broke the sound barrier.

Digital illustration of a home wrapped in light-brown paper and tied with string, as if for shipping.

If you can track a package, shouldn’t you be able to track a house?

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Shipping, Uncategorized.

Well, yeah.

At least that’s what we believe at Momo Homes. 

You see, our homes aren’t built like other homes. We don’t use concrete foundations (too toxic). We don’t use wood framing (steel is better.) And best of all for builders, we don’t make you build everything onsite (what a hassle.)

Instead, we pre-assemble homes off-site from the highest quality materials, like cold-formed steel. The components of the home are then carefully packed into a shipping container (in reverse-build order, of course), and delivered directly to your homesite.

This makes for a fast build. Three weeks, on average. And you only need a team of four.

I digress. 

Here’s the scenario we’re creating: total tracking, from supplier to factory to you. You’ll be able to monitor component delivery, the panelization process in our Panama factory, and shipment and delivery to your jobsite.

From atoms to assembly, basically.

The trip from the factory won’t take very long. Only a week for most destinations in the continental U.S.

Nice, right? 

We know that waiting for a package to arrive is never easy. 

But knowing exactly how short that wait will be should help. 

Cheers,

Jeff

Jeff Williams is Momo Homes’ chief marketing officer.

Momo Focus graphic headline, which says "Better homes and dryer balls".

Changing the world, one home at a time

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Momo Focus, Uncategorized.

The Momo Focus is our biweekly roundup of news about the future of factory-perfect sustainable homebuilding.

Hi, 

Indulge me for a moment, but I think our homes can change the world. 

Too much?

Okay, how about this: I think our homes can nudge the world in a better direction. 

Ever read Charles Duhigg’s book “The Power of Habit“? Duhigg argues that there are some habits – like making the bed in the morning or starting a fitness regimen – that catalyze a chain of other good habits.

Duhigg calls these “keystone habits.” And my gut feeling (or maybe it’s just my delusional hope) is that living in a Momo home can be a kind of keystone habit. 

Here’s what I mean …

Say you buy a Momo home because it’s a great value. But then you’re amazed by the quality of the construction. You start to realize you’re saving a ton of money on your energy bills because of the way we’ve incorporated principles from passive design. Maybe you take advantage of the tax rebates on solar panels, so now you’re not only paying next to nothing for home energy, you can charge your EV and ebike for free, too. Whoa! Okay … now maybe you’re creating so much energy that – if you’re connected to the grid, or a microgrid – you can start selling your power in the marketplace and making a bit of income on the side. Then, because our homes are smart enough to track your carbon score, maybe you can start to drive that score down to zero. Maybe you can sell the offset. Maybe your neighbors are doing the same thing. Maybe you have a friendly competition, which you track via an online community. Maybe a bunch of neighborhoods start to do the same thing, until suddenly there’s a tipping point and we all look up and see that the world is full of clean energy, healthy air, zippy cars, and homes that feel like castles.

Sounds like sci-fi, right? And yes, some of it is. At least at the moment.

But much of this is already happening and all of it could happen.

Just sayin’.

Here’s this week’s roundup. …

Snapshots

Who says insulation ain’t sexy?

The Switch is On writes that “Deep weatherization (such as adding insulation) can save most households between $500-$800 per year just by making the home more efficient.”

You go, utilities!

Canary Media reports that “Twenty-five utility companies have entered the ​’2030 Club’ by enacting ambitious, voluntary goals for that timeframe, above and beyond any state-level mandates that apply to them.” Nice.

Fighting global warming takes dryer balls

Katharine Hayhoe writes on her Substack that “Dryer balls reduce drying time by allowing hot air to circulate around the dryer more efficiently by creating space between your clothes in the dryer. This can reduce total drying time by up to 25 percent.”

Tower of power

A New York-based engineer named Jim Bardia has introduced a design for a freestanding combination wind- and solar-powered EV charger. Check out the IEEE Spectrum article. (I know this isn’t really relevant to homebuilding, and it’s only tangentially related to the home as an energy system. I just included it here because … well, it’s cool.)

The home economy

Eye on Housing: August Gains for Private Residential Construction Spending

NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 0.6% in August. Read the full article.

Black Knight: Home Prices Set Yet Another Record in August

Highlights from the mortgage-data company’s latest release: 

  • Home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.68% from July; August’s non-adjusted gain (0.24%) was more than 60% larger than the 25-year same-month average (0.15%).
  • Along with a lower starting point due to late-2022 price drops, August’s increase was enough to push the annual rate of home price growth to 3.8%, up from 2.4% in July and just 0.25% back in May.
  • According to the ICE Home Price Index (formerly the Black Knight HPI), this marked the third consecutive month of home price growth reacceleration after annual home price growth slowed to effectively flat earlier this year

Bill McBride: But home prices aren’t rising everywhere

McBride, author of the Calculated Risk Substack, noted that “In August, 11 states and D.C. were below their previous peaks, seasonally adjusted.” Notables include: Austin, Boise, and much of Utah, Arizona, and Hawaii.

Eye on Housing: Strong Job Gains in September

Job growth remained solid in September as the Fed fights against inflation. In fact, the recent jobs data has been stronger than most economists expected and is a reminder that GDP growth for the third quarter will be very strong and inflation risks persist. Read the full article.

Builder news

I have seen the future of building and its name is offsite

The new issue of “Offsite Builder” is out and Gary Fleisher’s editor’s note gives “Seven Reasons to Be Optimistic About Offsite’s Future”, including time savings, quality, safety, and more.  The issue also includes articles on overcoming objections to offsite building, the circular economy, and the power of a gemba walk.

John Burns: Where’s the reset in building-products prices?

Up 40% since 2019, the cost of building materials has not, for the most part, come back down. John Burns Research and Consulting reports on recent price increases, including:

  • Roofing: 5%–8% 
  • Insulation: 6%–10% 
  • Gypsum wallboard: Up to 20% 

Eye on Housing: Lot Values Trail Behind Inflation

Lot values for single-family detached spec homes continued to rise in 2022, with the national value and six out of nine Census divisions setting new nominal records, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) data. Read the full article.

Buyer news

Eye on Housing: Number of 5,000+ Square Foot Homes Down in 2022

According to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), a total of 29,000 5,000+ square-foot homes were started in 2022, down from 33,000 in 2021. Read the full article.

Eye on Housing: Patios Are Increasingly Popular on New Homes

The share of homes with patios edged up to another record high last year.  Of the roughly one million single-family homes started in 2022, 63.3% percent came with patios—up from 63.0% in 2021, and the seventh consecutive year of setting a new record. Read the full article.

Recent blog posts

Here are the blog articles we’ve published since the last Momo Focus.

Cheers, 

Jeff

Jeff Williams is the chief marketing officer for Momo Homes.

Digital image of a left hand holding the book "Certain to Win," which frankly, doesn't have a very exciting cover. But it's a great book.

Rec Room: “Certain to Win”

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Every couple weeks we share a brief summary of a book that has shaped our thinking. Enjoy. 

The Book

“Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd Applied to Business”.

Author

Chet Richards is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and consultant who was for many years a close associate of the late US Air Force Col. John Boyd, the originator of the OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act)

Subject

At its heart, Boyd’s strategy is an explanation of how agility can overcome raw power in military conflict. “Certain to Win” shows how Boyd’s ideas apply to business.

Purpose of the book

“Certain to Win” shows organizations how they can use tempo to offset a competitor’s size, technology, position, and even planning.

In particular, winners are able to make things happen that their opponents may anticipate, but not when their opponents might expect.

Mismatches in time – such as when things don’t appear to be happening in a continuous and predictable manner – can be disorienting. And under stress, disoriented people become demoralized, frustrated, and panicked. 

Structure

  • Chapter 1: Introduction to Boyd’s ideas.
  • Chapters 2-4: Boyd’s general concepts for using time in any form of competition, plus specific ideas for employing those ideas in business.
  • Chapter 5: Description of the organizational climate in which fast decision cycles can flourish.
  • Chapter 6: Cheng and chi maneuvers. Cheng maneuvers are those that the competitor can comprehend or measure. Chi maneuvers are unorthodox, unanticipated, irregular, surprising.
  • Chapter 7: Putting the ideas into practice.

One quote

“With a strategy this powerful, your aim is not to respond to but to create the market conditions that you want.”

Further reading

Computer rendering of the backyard of a Momo Coastal home.

Sometimes it’s good to be passive-aggressive

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Uncategorized.

For your next home, would you rather have a strainer or a thermos?

That’s the analogy offered by the executive director of the Passive House Network. Despite their name, passive houses aren’t pushovers or scared to assert their needs in a tough conversation.

The homes he’s talking about are built (or retrofitted) upon the principles of passive design.

“A typical building is like a sieve you use to strain pasta,” the ED said, “where air is moving through the walls. A passive house is more akin to a thermos.”

What is passive design?

It’s a set of design approaches that use the natural environment to heat, cool, ventilate, and light a building.

These approaches take into account factors like the local climate, site conditions, and materials to create a building that functions in harmony with the environment.

It may help to think of passive design as a counterpoint to active design, which uses mechanical systems like furnaces, air conditioners, and boilers to provide home energy.

The goal of passive design is to create a comfortable and energy-efficient indoor environment that minimizes the use of mechanical systems and reduces the home’s energy consumption.

The past of passive design

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the current spike of interest in passive design is directly tied to our climate crisis, with everyone getting serious about energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The passive house model has its roots in the 1973 oil crisis, when oil prices quadrupled overnight and everyone freaked out about the costs to fill their car tanks and heat their suburban homes.

The crisis lasted only six months, and we quickly went back to guzzling gas. But the uncertainty had inspired some architects and engineers to design homes that used little to no energy.

How passive can you get?

Homes can be built to strictly adhere to agreed-upon design standards and nab a coveted Phius certification, much like the LEED and Energy Star certifications.

But they can also follow a hybrid model, which uses both active and passive design elements together.

To meet passive house standards, a home must use optimal insulation, high-performance windows and doors, proper solar orientation, an airtight enclosure, and balanced ventilation.

The result? Passive homes use up to 80% less energy than traditionally built homes, and have healthier air for breathing and structure resilience.    

Passive picks up

Here’s just a handful of passive design projects that are already saving energy:

The New York Times covered a brownstone that was recently renovated with passive design strategies. Its residents report that they rarely turn on the heat (and no longer suffer the black dust that drifts through NYC’s open windows).

Residents of a 13-building passive house project in Newton, Massachusetts, can eliminate heating and cooling bills from their lives. That’s because the energy costs are projected to be as low as about $35 to $55 a month, and will be factored into their monthly rent.

A house in Maine can stay at 70 degrees—even in winter—without turning on the furnace (which they actually got rid of).

Builders today understand that both consumers and municipalities will increasingly demand homes be built with energy efficiency and zero emissions in mind. 

Which means we’ll be seeing a lot more homes like these.

Passive may not be the best approach for conversations, aggression, or credit card repayment. But it’s a pretty good one for the planet.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike McAllister is head of story for Momo Homes.

Digital image of a finger pointing at a thermostat's temperature display.

Busting a thermostat myth

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Heating and Cooling, Thermostats, Uncategorized.

Some myths were made to be broken.

Otherwise, you risk wasting a lot of mental energy worried that Twinkies have an endless shelf life, it’s illegal to shout “fire!” in a crowded movie theater, and chewing gum will sit in your stomach for seven years.

We can waste a lot of energy (sorry) with home-based myths, too.

Namely, that dishwashing by hand uses less water than a dishwasher (it doesn’t), most heat is lost through the windows (it’s actually through the walls), and switching your lights on and off costs more energy than leaving them on (just… turn them off).

Which brings us to one of the most common home-based myths:

Keeping your thermostat at one steady temperature throughout the day costs less energy (and money) than adjusting the temp when you sleep or leave for work.

The theory is that a furnace or air conditioner works harder than normal to warm or cool the house back to a comfortable temp after the thermostat has been set back, leading to little or no savings. 

Some call this bull

But the U.S. Department of Energy is more diplomatic, labeling it a “common misconception.”

A highly rigorous, completely unscientific review of other sources back this up. Joining the federal government in this opinion are organizations like the Sierra Club, Treehugger, CNET, a team of architectural and building systems engineers reporting for PBS, and some HVAC guys in Waldwick, New Jersey.

The truth is that keeping your house at its normal temp requires more energy than to heat it back to that temp after dialing the thermostat down.

Going back to grade-school science

Around the time your mother told you the myth that sitting too close to the TV will make you go blind, you might have also picked up an actual science-based fact: By nature, heat moves to places where it’s cold. So if your heat’s up, it’s constantly wandering from the inside to the outside of your house, even if your house is well-insulated.

A home loses energy more slowly once the temperature inside drops below normal levels. The longer the house remains cold, the more energy it saves compared to the energy lost when the heater is humming along at its typical temp.

The same principle holds for home cooling. The higher the air temp rises above normal levels inside your house, the slower it loses energy. That makes it easier to re-cool the home when you stumble out of bed or come home from work.

So we’ve learned what NOT to do

But what’s the actual best practice?

Energy.gov recommends a couple of sweet spots. Keep the thermostat in winter at about 68 degrees F when you’re home and drop it down to about 55 degrees before you go out or go to bed.

In the summer, try to leave the thermostat at around 78 degrees F. They also suggest setting it to 82 degrees F when sleeping and 85 degrees F when out of the house for maximum savings.

If you’re like me, you could never fall asleep in a room that’s 82 degrees. Which just means we’ll have to make our peace with higher energy bills.

Speaking of, Energy.gov also reports that a family that sets back its thermostat by about 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day while sleeping or out of the house can save 5 to 15 percent a year on home heating costs.

All of this is made easier with a smart thermostat, which we’ve covered in more detail before.

It’s the kind of smart-energy touch we’re adding to all our homes, listening to science, not our mothers, for advice.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike McAllister is head of story for Momo Homes.

Sleek picture of a pot on an induction stove.

Let’s clear the air on induction stoves

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Uncategorized.

If you’re shopping for a natural gas stove, stop. Like, right now.

The Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate bill in U.S. history, is about to change how Americans look at (and live with) energy efficiency. 

Starting where it counts — in your wallet.

Depending on your eligibility, the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program could cut up to $840 off the cost of an induction cooktop. Which is really good news for a lot of different reasons.

Let’s dive in.

So what’s an induction stovetop, exactly?

Induction stovetops take a weird-science-y approach to cooking. They use electromagnetic fields to transfer currents directly to the cookware placed on their glass surfaces.

It’s a more direct transfer of heat than traditional electric or gas stovetops, as it creates heat from within the cookware itself. 

This means better cooking efficiency. Consumer Reports says that induction cooktops can boil water 20-40 percent faster than traditional electric and gas stovetops.

Another bonus: Removing the cookware stops the heat immediately. So you can forever skip the Oh my god did I leave the stove on? thoughts that make morning commutes inconvenient.

Breathe better, indoors and out

The US Department of Energy (DOE) reports that induction stoves are up to three times more efficient than gas stoves, and up to 10 percent more efficient than conventional smooth-top electric ranges.

This means wins in two categories: your energy bill, and your carbon footprint. As one sustainability journalist put it, “Induction stoves are climate-change-fighting machines, kicking fossil fuels out of the kitchen.”

This is really good news for American kids, by the way. A recent study found that 12.7 percent of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use. (Think of all the money you could save on inhalers.) 

Cooking with natural gas produces indoor air pollution like nitrous oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde (HCHO). All you’re just trying to boil some spaghetti.

Here’s more of what induction has to offer, and few strikes against it:

Induction pros

  • Offers long-term savings on energy bills.
  • Consumes zero fossil fuels.
  • Eliminates indoor air pollutants associated with gas stoves.
  • Offers more precise control of heating (chefs rejoice!).
  • Generates less excess heat on the stove’s surface.
  • Eliminates the worry of unattended burners.
  • Reduces risks of accidental burns.
  • Won’t ignite nearby towels or pot holders.
  • Offers (with ceramic-glass models) durable and crack-resistant surfaces.
  • Features a crevice-free surface (one that even I could clean).

Induction cons

  • May require an electrical upgrade to the kitchen.
  • Only works with ferromagnetic cookware (pots and pans with cast iron or certain types of stainless steel). Sorry, copper fans.
  • Often costs more than a traditional stove (but prices are falling).

About those electrical upgrades: there’s more good news in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Eligible participants in the rebate program could get up to $2,500 for upgrades to electric wiring; and up to $4,000 for an upgrade to the electric load service center (the box that holds your circuit breakers and distributes electricity from your energy provider).

That means you can plug in your induction stove and get to cooking.

If I can make it there…

Also, cool and creative minds are working on making induction stoves cheaper and more accessible. 

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the country’s biggest provider of public housing, recently launched the Induction Stove Challenge.

The contest will inspire manufacturers to compete for a contract to install at least 10,000 induction stoves in NYCHA buildings. The catch? They must design efficient models that don’t require electrical upgrades.

This should not only improve the lives of NYC public housing residents but also incite a larger market change, lowering the barriers to induction stoves for all.

How the other half cooks

Meanwhile, on the other coast, Los Angeles is pushing to outlaw gas appliances in new buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the entertainment industry is embracing induction as a result.

Interior designers to the stars are selling their clients on high-end models, like an induction offering where pots can be cooked directly on a granite or porcelain countertop, so the stove seamlessly blends into the kitchen.

The rest of us may have to settle for a more basic model. But we’ll still get the perks of induction.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike McAllister is head of story for Momo Homes.

Workman setting a solar panel in place on the roof of a home.

“I want to give the audience a song that they can perform”

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Uncategorized.

In a scene from the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Freddie Mercury walks in late to a rehearsal to find Brian May leading the rest of Queen in the stomp-stomp-clap beat that will become the mother of all rock anthems, “We Will Rock You.”

Freddie listens for a moment, then asks him, “Will you please tell me why you’re not playing any instruments?”

“I want to give the audience a song that they can perform,” says Brian.

I think we need something similar for the climate.

I saw this post come up in my LinkedIn feed a couple days ago about the flooding in Slovenia …

The future is happening here and now. The largest natural disaster happened this weekend in Slovenia. More than 2/3 of the country was flooded and cut off the rest of the country: hundreds of houses were flooded, about 100 bridges were damaged, basic infrastructure was damaged – roads, electricity, water, communication, gas, rail, public transport, 4 deaths…. The costs of redevelopment will be enormous

The post is heartbreaking.

And so damned typical.

And frustrating.

Frustrating because, when I see stories like this, I always end up asking myself: What can I DO?

The post tries to answer that question:

What next? We all have to rethink our actions and values. We have to take responsibility to take serious #climatemitigation and #climateadaptation actions – the public and the private sector. Just nice words and reports about sustainability will not be enough.

While I empathize – and agree (a line from Rilke comes to mind: “You must change your life”) – I’m left wanting something … specific.

Specific like an everyday metric. E.g.:

  • Want to be fit? Walk 10,000 steps every day. 
  • Want your kids to love books? Read to them for 15 minutes every day. 
  • Want to be healthy? Eat five fruits and vegetables every day.
  • Want to help the climate? Make one panel’s worth of extra energy every day.

I just made up that last one.

I really have no idea what the answer should be, but I think there’s a metric we can create, and if we can create it, solar-powered homes can be a kind of catalyst for positive change.

By the way, I’m using a data point that a typical single solar panel in the United States generates about 2 kilowatt-hours per day. Don’t hold me to the math, but the idea is that if everyone generates one solar panel’s worth of extra energy, that energy can flow to other places and create a virtuous cycle.

Once you have a metric, and a smart, connected home-energy dashboard, you can start to compare your home energy surplus to others, and perhaps compete for bragging rights or even real money.

In other words, everyone gets to perform the song.

Cheers,

Jeff

Jeff Williams is Momo’s chief marketing officer.

Photo by Bill Mead on Unsplash.

Graphic image, more of a collage, really of a house with solar panels, stand-alone solar panels, a windmill, and two giant leaves.

Home Energy 101: A guide for the dim

Written by Charles Gale on . Posted in Uncategorized.

What is a kilowatt hour, exactly? As a homeowner, understanding energy-related terminology can be helpful when making decisions about your energy consumption and costs. But there’s a reason why guys like Thomas Edison are once-in-a-lifetime geniuses—some of this stuff is slippery to grasp.

Continue reading

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