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It does cost more to build an energy efficient home. Overall I estimated construction costs ran about 5% higher. But we will recoup the costs each month as our utility bills run about 55% less than our neighbors. Costs are very difficult to compare as homes no two homes are the same. Everywhere you turn you see a wide variety in costs. This home tended toward the higher end of quality but one could have spent a lot more money. For example we have a significant amount of tile flooring. We used an Italian import at about $6/sqft for tile where one can find many bargain tiles at $1.20/sqft. We used oak trim downstairs which is 3 times higher than painted pine. We used a top grade of insulating garage doors for $1,700 where uninsulated ones are $550. Finally we were double the code on electrical outlets. We also added 14 Ethernet ports, 8 phone and cable connections as it is hard to estimate the wiring requirements of the future. The cost of building the house was about $169,000 or $65/sqft. This is toward the lower end of custom built homes in the area which run $55 - $100 per sqft. The house is 2,600 sqft and we have an 870sqft garage. The lot costs are not included. Offsetting the reasonable building cost is the fact that we have over 2000 hours of sweat equity in the house as we designed, drew the house plans, were the contractors, built the footers, ICF walls, wiring, landscaping and special painting. This along with the myriad of other details that needed to be done with the house. So before you proceed make sure you and your marriage are up to the task. The best book we found on being a contractor is BE YOUR OWN HOUSE CONTRACTOR by Carl Heldmann. A great all purpose book on general building is MODERN CARPENTRY by Willis Wagner and Howard Smith. The additional solar/insulating costs included:
This gives a payback of about 8 years assuming energy costs do not rise further. But there are additional benefits to this type of construction. The house is more durable, as the main walls and roof are designed to withstand winds of 150 MPH and earthquakes. The walls are are even bullet proof. This translates to a home with no winter drafts and it is quieter than a typical home. By it's nature a solar home is also much brighter in the winter. We have a warm garage which saves on automobile wear by reducing cold winter starts and it gives a nice place for winter wood working or car projects.
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