High-Performing Homes

What is a High-Performing Home?

High-performing homes are just like any home—except they are built to a higher standard. These high-performance homes are so air-tight, well insulated, and energy efficient that they produce as much renewable energy as they consume over the course of a year, leaving the occupants with a net zero energy bill, and a carbon-free home.

A high-performing home is not just a “green home” or a home with solar panels. A high-performing home combines advanced design and superior building systems with energy efficiency and on-site solar panels to produce a better home. High-performance homes are ultra-comfortable, healthy, quiet homes that are affordable to live in.

Something for Everyone

One of the most valuable aspects of a high-performing home is the wide variety of housing types that can achieve certification. A high-performing home can fit any lifestyle. Individuals, couples, and families, of all ages and incomes live in these efficient homes. These homes can range from mansions to development homes, to small cottages and tiny homes. And they can exist in any climate from the arid Southwest, to the warm humid climate of the Southeast, to very cold regions such as Maine, the Upper Plains, and Alaska. High-performing homes can look like any other home or have their own unique style – from colonial, to modern, to craftsman, or ranch and everything in between. 

High-Performance Homes Save You Money from Day One

High-performing homes are a sound financial investment with benefits that begin the moment the home is purchased, and for as long as you own the home. The total cost of living in a high-performing home is lower than that of a comparable standard home. A high-performance home can protect you from a rapid rise in energy prices. Years from now, you’ll pay the same price you pay today to keep your lights on and your family warm. That price will be zero or next to zero.

You Get What You Pay For

The old adage that “You have to spend money to make money.”  should be applied to thinking to high-performance construction. When thinking about high-performance, energy efficient, and healthy homes, “affordable” is probably not the first word that comes to mind. In fact, it’s more likely, “that sounds expensive.”  Even though the features of a high-performing home are slightly more expensive, any added cost can be kept to a minimum using several strategies. Doing so will help ensure that high-performing homes are both affordable and cost comparable to similarly sized homes built to code.

Even when high-performing homes cost more than a comparable standard home, they will cost less to own. With cost-effective design and construction, the energy saving features and solar collectors for a high-performing home may add 5% to 10% over the cost of a similar-sized home built to code after incentives. However, the average monthly energy savings on the home will be significantly greater than the added monthly mortgage payment. As a result, the total cost of ownership of a cost-effective, high-performing home will be less than that of a comparable home built to code, creating positive cash flow the very first month of ownership.

Best of all, the cost for energy-saving features, including solar panels, are continuing to fall, and thereby improving affordability.   

Tips for Building High-Performing Homes

  • Design a smaller, more spacious home. The average new home in the U.S. is around 2,400 square feet. One way to offset the entire cost of high-performing energy features is to make the home smaller. For example, if the cost of construction is $150/sq. ft., then designing a home that is 2,100 sq. ft. instead of 2,400 sq. ft. would save close to $45,000.
  • Take advantage of the many financial incentives available to help offset the costs of those high-performance features. Federal tax credits are available across the U.S. and state tax credits are available in many states. Utility incentives are also available in some areas. See the DSIRE website for specific information about incentives available in your area.
  • Be conscious of cost when selecting home features, finishes, and amenities. For example choose countertops that are highly attractive, but much less expensive than granite. Interior finishes are expensive and constitute a large percentage of a home’s discretionary cost. In the long run, finishes will be replaced, while the structural elements that affect energy performance will last the entire life of the home.
  • Ensure that the home’s assessed value takes into consideration all the energy upgrades.
  • With careful, cost-conscious design and construction, and after state and federal incentives, the price tag for a high-performing home may be 4% to 8% higher than a similar home built to code. However, high-performing homes in that range will cost buyers less to own than similar homes built to code
  • Select a local bank that offers an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM). An EEM will allow them to add $3,000 to $6,000 to the loan amount they would ordinarily qualify for by increasing the borrower’s income by a dollar amount equal to the estimated energy savings.