S2A, a New Modular Builder in California, Leverages Tesla Powerwall
There’s a new modular builder in the housing market offering a home the company hopes will “shatter the world’s conventional thought on the way residential and commercial buildings are designed and constructed.”
The California-based company, S2A Modular, is introducing what it calls the #GreenLuxHome, the “first-ever electrically self-sustaining, custom luxury home” with “high-end designs and materials; faster construction speed; self-sustaining power … and smart-connected living.”
New Modular Builder Is Less Than Two Years Old
John Rowland and Brian Kuzdas founded S2A Modular in 2017.
Rowland, the president, has about 30 years of home construction experience. Kuzdas, the CEO, has about 30 years of brokerage experience, having started out selling apartments in Chicago.
When they studied the manufactured and modular method of construction — which can turn out stronger buildings faster and cheaper than traditional site-built construction methods — they thought it would be a good idea to form a partnership and build a factory for a new modular product, Kuzdas said.
The factory, still under construction, will be completed in two phases. The company will complete its first 100,000-square-foot facility in 2019. The second facility will open in 2020. Both facilities will be located on 18 acres in Menifee, Calif. Combined, they’ll produce about 2,000 units per year, Kuzdas said.
Meanwhile, S2A has assembled a corporate team and has access to a construction workforce. Eventually, the company would like to build another factory in northern California, he said.
New Modular Builder Will Expand to New Markets
Even though the factory is unfinished, S2A has already taken orders for more than 250 units, including single-family homes, mixed-use buildings, apartment buildings, hotels and modular communities. For the time being, S2A is focused on selling buildings in California. The company plans to expand to nearby states, and eventually the rest of the country, Kuzdas said.
Though all the units will be built in a factory, S2A will not use a “cookie-cutter” approach. The company offers dozens of new modular single-family home designs, with the option to make even more custom changes. Home sizes can vary from a 600-square-foot accessory dwelling unit to a 10,000-square-foot mansion. The price of each home will vary based on design, but will cost less per square foot than a comparable stick-built home. And upgrades for things like cabinets and countertops will cost less than similar upgrades in the traditional housing market. That’s thanks to the efficiencies of modular construction, he said.
Tesla Powerwall Central to Home Efficiencies
The core of S2A’s modular design is the Tesla Powerwall, which stores electricity generated from solar tiles. Using this battery to power a home requires modern, energy-efficient windows, doors and other components. This arrangement eliminates energy costs — in fact, utility companies might even pay the homeowners for contributing energy to the grid, according to S2A.
“This is the future of housing in general,” Kuzdas said. “If you take a Tesla battery and put it in a home built in the ’50s, forget about it. It’s not as energy efficient.”
He’s excited about the overall benefits of modular construction.
“I love what’s going on right now,” Kuzdas said. “Modular is a great way to build. It’s not much different than the traditional method, it’s just that you’re building inside. You don’t have to take weekends off. You don’t wait out rain. That’s where you create efficiencies.”
