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Myths and Misconceptions About New Homes

Because my home is new, it must be efficient.

  • Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing that requires homes built today to be any more efficient than the building code that they are built under. Remember, building codes are a minimum standard. Today's high-performance builders build homes that far exceed the code minimum requirements.
    Also, building officials have neither the mandate nor the time to inspect homes with a goal of creating high-performance homes.

Every builder that we've talked to claims to build energy-efficient homes, what's up?

  • Once upon a time, judging what was energy-efficient may have been open to debate, but now, with an effective energy rating system in place, there is a way to compare apples-to-apples and truly know how efficient a home is. Of course, energy efficiency is only one aspect of building high-performance homes. If you want to live in a high-performance home (and who wouldn't), you'll need to find a builder who knows how to build them.

I'm concerned about my house being too tight. Doesn't a house need to breathe?

  • The good news is that many builders today are building houses that are much tighter than they use to be. This helps a home be more efficient and comfortable, but is only part of the puzzle. The truth is that houses don't need to breathe, people need to breathe. High-performance homes take this into account and provide the people who live in them with thoughtfully considered ventilation air. Houses need to be kept dry and consider moisture sources and how to deal with them. A very old phrase in building science is, "Build tight, ventilate right". It's never been more true than today.

This all sounds complicated and expensive. Won't a high performance home cost me a bundle?

  • Actually, depending on how long you stay in your home, you'll save a bundle. Check out the following examples to see how it all works out. You can expect a high-performance home to cost anywhere from nothing more to a few thousand dollars more. What you should consider is that the extra money you spend to get a high-performance home is often difficult to see. The improvements and changes your builder makes to build a better home will be "under the hood". Would you buy a car without knowing what was under its' hood?

    Just considering the first cost of a home is a short-sighted way to think about the choices you make in buying a new home. When you think about the features you would like to see in your new home, shouldn't you put high-performance right up there with the fancier counter or the jetted tub?
  • Yet another consideration is that the price of energy is rising steadily. While it is difficult to predict how fast prices will rise, it is almost certain that they will continue to go up. The bottom-line is that decisions about building a more energy-efficient home today will look even better tomorrow.

If this stuff is all "behind-the-scenes", it won't help me much when I sell my home, will it?

  • Actually, it will. The energy rating that accompanies a high-performance home is your durable key to showing more value in your home.