The Cost of Building Green
The belief that the cost of building green is greater than the cost of building conventionally is very common, but there are many ways in which it is less expensive in terms of building and operating in both commercial and residential situations. Typically the green projects that get press and you hear about are LEED certified or are very high profile, and this is very misconceiving. An example on operating costs is that of your electricity. Some states in the US offer incentive programs for not only installing solar panels, but also energy exchange programs. Because the sun does not shine all the time in one particular place, if you are still hooked up to the grid, you can receive power from the electrical company during the off-peak times for the sun. In exchange for being hooked up, all unused electricity produced from your solar panels will go to the electrical company. In many cases, this can completely null your electrical expenses, once installed.
Make sure you look around and find out your options for programs like this. They are established to help! The bit of energy that goes back into the grid is that much less that has to be produced in other ways as well.
The exciting thing about jumping into a green building project, is that you have the opportunity to design and change the box thinking when it comes to housing. I challenge the point that you could even make the same size house green as conventional and be way ahead with the green project. It comes down to designing the way the sun will hit each part of the roof, house etc., less walls, more of an open floor plan (allows better air movement and less of a need to supply temperate air to individual spaces, as well as an awesome warm/whole feeling in the house itself!), rethinking your heating and cooling systems, maximizing the space by eliminated unnecessary and unused spaces and corners etc. The list can go on and on and on…. Be creative and get involved!