How much does it cost to build a 'green' house?

Question

I want to build an enviromentally friendly house, and was wondering about average prices. I'm looking for 3-4 bedrooms, 2+ baths, and a fair size place. I'm not sure yet what all I will include, I'm still begining my research. What have you done that does work, that doesnt, and how much did it cost? I dont have alot of money, but I live in a place that could really use some green influence. I am even considering proposing an undeveloped area be zoned as a 'green' house subdivision before someone snatches it up for yet another shopping center. Thanks in advance!

I live in arkansas, so some really hot weather, and some moderatly cold. I admit I like the creature comforts of this world, but I want to make as little impact as I can while doing it! So darn...is it really that much more expensive? My worry is getting the money for now. I wonder how much I could save by using as much repo as possible...even more friendly to recycle ^_^

Because of my large family, small isnt much of an option.

Answer 1

Well as a general rule of thumb a green house (totally sustainable) will run about 40% more expensive than an equal house (same size, bedrm's and bathrm's) done with the normal materials and processes.

Now even though this is expensive and will create a higher mortgage payment, however you will need to keep in mind that you just eliminated your electricity bill and your gas bill (if its totally sustainable). So on paper it all works out .
Even if you dont do a completely sustainable home each dollar you spend towards making it more energy efficient (energy star windows, traum walls, thermal heating and cooling), you will save in utility cost.

Now as far as what works, it all depends on your climate and where you live. Green techniques are not generally universal, they are very regionalized. For instance, if you live in a very cold climate, you may want to run hot water tubes through your concrete floor slab, but if your in the south that technique wouldnt work at all. If your in a very hot region, you can use hollow concrete floor and wall systems and run your conditioned air through the wall, thereby cooling the wall and floor creating a more comfortable room for less energy.

There are literally thousands of different things you can do, I woudl reccomend that you sit down with a LEED certified architect. Also if you get your home LEED certified, you get a tax rebate of something like ~$1.70 per square foot from the federal government and depending on your state, they have incentive programs too.

Answer 2

There is a community in England that did just that - it is a type of commune (not the hippie 60's free love type) where thy all helped build each others home out of reclaimed building materials and they share a common well and such. It was on a Changing Rooms episode where the designers had to use all reclaimed items to change up the room and the finished products were amazing. They used Jeans to make curtains, old table frames and discarded wood to make tables and rag castoffs to make scatter rugs - it came out beautifully. I think if you have enough people interested you could probably even get government funding to purchase the land for a "green community" don't forget to include a community garden and small coral for milk and egg producing animals -they will also provide fertilizer and fuel for cook and home fires. This is a great idea and I hope you run with it. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Building A Greenhouse Plans Easiest!

Answer 4

Straw bale homes are really cool, they are extremely energy efficient. I live in Texas and know some people that built their own. They do not even Have air-conditioning or heating besides a fireplace. Plus the walls are like a foot thick so no worries about the neighbors hearing what you are doing. I think they are rather inexpensive, especially if you decide to build it yourself. There is a commune in Central Illinois that has done some of the same things that the person was commenting about in England.

Answer 5

Unless you are really politically connected the chances of getting that undeveloped area other people own are zip I can only imagine how excited they would be about only being able to build unconventional homes on it and how much of their land value that would eliminate. Building green is more expensive but the greenest thing you can do is to cut out extra space. You may want to rethink the size of your house.