House Performance Scenarios
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers when considering your options for building an energy efficient home. We know that a super energy efficient home can be built without breaking the bank (5 to 10% additional capital cost is the rule of thumb), especially if you’re prepared to make compromises. But what does it all add up to?
The table below is a quick breakdown of what you get for your money, and how you can additionally power your new home using solar energy. With NetZero, which is basically a home that produces as much power as it consumes, you could be looking at a home that costs nothing to run (heating, cooling, air exchange).
Conventional |
CodePlus |
Passive House |
| Current code | 70% better than code | 85% better than code |
| $460k build | $480k build | $500k build |
| $ to Net Zero: | $ to Net Zero: | $ to Net Zero: |
| 35kw solar | 9kw solar | 6kw solar |
| $65,000 (solar) | $22,000 (solar)* | $18,000 (solar)* |
*For the CodePlus and Passive House examples, this will meet the home’s total energy needs for roughly six months/year.
So, a home built to current conventional building code will be the cheapest to build, but will require a hefty investment to Net Zero (approx $65,000 for a 35kw array).
A home built using EkoBuilt’s CodePlus standard will get you a home that performs 70% better than a home built to current building code. To power that home with solar panels, you are looking at investing roughly $22,000 for a 9kw solar array.
A home built using EkoBuilt’s Passive House standard will result in a home that is 85% better than one built to current code. A smaller solar array of just 6kw can be had for more like $18,000.
Sample House Profile
The cost scenarios above are all based on building the Trillium model by EkoBuilt, which we used to build the EkoModel Home.
The Trillium has 2,506 square feet of space, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and is a two-storey layout.
The above cost scenarios can be revised accordingly to fit any of the energy efficient home plans offered by EkoBuilt, or to a design of your choosing.
Your Budget
Work with us and we’ll help you figure out the best houseplan and building approach to suit your budget, both for the upfront house build and for ongoing running costs. Give us a shout and we’ll show you how!
We have a whole series of energy efficient house plans ranging from 400 sq ft to 3,200 sq ft that you can build to any standard you wish!