Can High Performance Be Cheaper Than Code Compliant?

On this week's installment of The Weekly, Jim Nostedt, president of SEEFAR Building Analytics, lays out a formula that shows how total cost of building ownership makes high-performance housing affordable to buyers and benefits builders who want to provide better quality housing.

The total cost of building ownership can be applied to new construction or remodeling and it estimates the operating and maintenance costs over the useful life of a building, which is typically 60 years.

Nostedt says that high-performance homes have 30 to 40% lower total cost and leads to higher resale values down the road and less cost for the homeowner.

“If a homeowner really cares about the total cost of building ownership, they will build homes that minimize the total cost of building ownership,” says Nostedt. “And the homeowner will have a higher performing building with lower energy costs and really lower operating and owning costs. This is good for the homeowner and the environment, but it’s also good for the builder because the builder’s costs to build the building are slightly higher, so his profit should be higher. So it’s a win-win situation.”

Watch the full segment below.

Watch past episodes here.

RELATED:

• Read Jim Nostedt's interview about revealing the true cost of constructing and operating a sustainable building
• How Transparent Do Estimates Need to Be?
• Smart Tech for Aging in Place