Most people think that saving energy and CO₂ at home will cost more—a lot more. But designing the house as an integrated system can make dramatic energy savings cost less.

My wife and I live 7,100 feet up in the Rockies, where temperatures can go as low as –47˚F (–44˚C). We can get frost any day of the year. We’ve seen 39 days of continuous midwinter cloud. Yet if you come in from the blizzard, our house is built around a jungle that so far has yielded 28 banana crops—with no furnace.

My house gets 99% of its heat from efficiency, “passive” solar heat coming in through the superwindows (which trap heat as well as 8–12 sheets of glass), and a little heat from the people, lights, appliances, and formerly a 50-watt dog (adjustable to 100 watts on cold nights if we threw her ball). The last 1% of the space heat comes from two woodstoves (I have to burn the energy studies somehow) which we hope to replace soon with more solar energy.

The lights and appliances are superefficient too: my household uses $5 a month worth of electricity, 90% less than normal (not counting our larger production of solar electricity), and 99% less water-heating energy than normal (thanks to efficient use and passive and active solar water heating). Our Visitor's Guide explains how substituting superinsulation, superwindows, and ventilation heat recovery added less construction cost than eliminating the heating system saved. Total construction cost fell by $1,100. Reinvesting that plus $6,000 ($1.50/sq ft) to save 99% of water-heating energy, 90% of household electricity, and 50% of water paid for itself in 10 months with 1983 technologies; today’s are better and cheaper.

What about hot climates? In 1994, Pacific Gas & Electric Company had Davis Energy Group design an experimental house in Davis, California. It maintained comfort with no air conditioner up to 113˚F (45˚C). If built in quantity, this ordinary-looking tract house, with no heating or cooling equipment, would have cost about $1,800 less than normal to build and $1,500 less than normal in present-valued maintenance costs.

What about hot, muggy climates where billions of people live? In 1996, Prof. Suntoorn Boonya­tikarn in Bangkok built a house at normal cost. It’s comfortable with one-tenth the normal air-conditioning energy, thanks to smart design and superwindows that let in light without heat.

These three houses, spanning the global climate range, show how whole-system design can save energy and climate, cut costs, and improve comfort. The same principles apply to all energy uses; including fixing up existing houses to save most of their energy and repay the cost in typically a few years.

Stay tuned for more solutions!