Notable quote on building cost
dickrussell
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
In the current issue of FHB (Jan 2014, No.240), there is an article by Steve Baczek on page 50 called “Designed for Success,” part one of “The Passive House Build.” At the end of the article the author makes a very nicely worded statement about the cost issue associated with Passive Houses, which can be applied also to the PGH level of house. I thought it worthwhile to draw attention to the statement as a “notable quote of the week.”
He writes: “It’s not that energy-efficient houses cost too much; it’s that our idea of a fairly priced new home is based on a history of building houses to meet embarrassingly low performance benchmarks.”
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Replies
Dick,
Steve Baczek makes an important point. But it's still worth calculating whether Baczeks's solution -- which includes 12 inches of subslab rigid foam -- will be cost-effective for the homeowner.
I can't wait to stumble upon the "next" article on a build for PH using 24" of subslab foam!!!
Then maybe 36" ??
Does anyone even bother doing some kind of ROI calcs anymore?
I fully agree with opinions that for at least up to zone 6 the Passive House level of "energy efficient" house is overkill, and that the PGH seems far more reasonable as a "standard" for what ought to constitute a home that is highly energy efficient, very comfortable, reasonably priced, and readily achievable. I viewed the quoted statement not as an endorsement of the Passive House but as a general one for something that is at least as good as the PGH. And I certainly didn't want quoting Steve to turn into yet another thread on PH vs PGH.