Building a green, high-performance home will typically always cost more than the same home built to standard building codes. The advantage is the long-term energy savings over the life of the home and the improved quality of life — which for many is priceless. Using California Code as a baseline of construction standards, these tables show the costs differences in initial construction costs, as well as the energy efficiency gains and ROI potential. Costs and return on investment People are often surprised to learn that a high-performance home only costs 5-10% more than a conventionally-built...


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First Certified Passive Home in San Mateo County & Menlo Park, California We are well under way on our first custom Passive Home in Menlo Park. The house is scheduled to be finished in late May. You may be wondering….what exactly is a passive house? A Passive Home is an extremely comfortable, healthy, economical and sustainable home, designed and constructed to use up to 90% less energy than a traditional home. This is achieved by enhanced insulation, greatly reduced thermal bridging, a virtually air tight building envelope, high performance windows and a heat recovery ventilation...


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