Zero Energy Home Built for Less Than $200,000
This zero energy home cost only $200,000 to construct. While that price is the builder’s cost, rather than the final sale price, it’s impressive that the cost of energy efficiency has dropped so low. Previously low-energy and zero energy homes (ZEHs) were usually built solely to preserve the environment and cost so much that the owners would never save enough on bills to recover the extra construction costs.
In the case of this $200,000 ZEH, it’s in an Oklahoma neighborhood where homes normally cost $125,000. The extra $75,000 the builder spent to make the home so energy efficient can be made up well within the original owner’s lifetime. For example: Average-sized midwestern homes see gas heating bills in the $200+ per month range and an average electricity bill in the $100 per month range in the winter. In the summer the gas bill drops but air conditioning can add back another $150 to the electricty bill. Fall and spring may see both bills totaling $200. By cutting both gas and electricity bills to zero this ZEH saves about $2,900 per year (based on each season being three months long). If gas and electricity prices don’t go up it will take less than 26 years to recover the extra $75,000 cost of the energy efficient construction. In the event the original owner sells less than 26 years from now, I assume a ZEH will have a higher sale price than a home with all those bills to pay.
If you’re shopping for a new home and your bank will approve the slightly larger loan needed to pay for extra-efficient equipment, then it’s probably time to think about how much savings better windows, appliances, and insulation are worth in the longrun.