If you are in the market to purchase a home, you are likely considering both new homes and older ones listed for resale. Since Briar Chapel consists only of green-certified homes, I would suggest you also consider a third category of homes before finalizing your purchase decision: high-performance homes.
In some cases, location may trump all other buying considerations. For example, if you want to live in a particular neighborhood or area, an older existing home may be your only option (unless you tear it down and rebuild). Otherwise, newly built homes can offer fewer hassles/repairs, less maintenance, higher efficiency, and increased customization. Just keep in mind - not all new homes are built the same!
Consider the chart above, for instance, which compares the annual energy cost for three different sized homes. For example, it shows the annual energy cost of a 2,400 sqft home in Briar Chapel to be approximately $390 less than a similar new home built to code elsewhere. That amounts to $3,120 in savings over an 8-year period, the average amount of time folks tend to live in a home. Similarly, it shows you could save about $6,304 over the same period compared to a home that is 15-years old - the equivalent of several mortgage payments!
Of course, energy cost savings is only one of the reasons you should consider buying a new high-performance home. Other benefits include a healthier indoor environment, increased level of comfort, more durable materials, higher market and resale value, and the list goes on...
Source: Southern Energy Management, the third-party company that conducts performance testing and green program verification on all homes built in Briar Chapel.
