The cost of energy efficiency upgrades to a house may increase the initial cost by 15% or so, but can reduce heating and cooling use by up to 90% as compared to RBES code homes resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in savings over the life of a home.

Retrofitting a home to be more energy efficient after it is built is possible. You can expect to spend 30% of the cost of the home (for deep energy retrofits).

A simple cost/benefit analysis shows that building your new home to a super energy efficient standard like the Efficiency Vermont High Performance House or Passive House (PHIUS) will give you a home with the same out of pocket expenses as with a code compliant home but with much lower heating/cooling bills...and by the way, much more comfortable as well.

Contact one of our builder members and ask about energy efficiency in your new home today!