[dragnet2]

BS, no one in Middle America can afford or wants to spend outrageous expenses to heat and cool these monstrosities.

[T-Bone Texan]

If folks want to buy them, then why begrudge their choice?

[PA Engineer]

BS, no one in Middle America can afford or wants to spend outrageous expenses to heat and cool these monstrosities.

If the homes are built properly the cost of heating and cooling is lower than existing stock.

The homeowner has to understand site orientation, insulation and HVAC. If you let the contractor make those decisions, then you will pay.

My home including basement, greenhouse and garage is 5100 SQ.FT. on 6 wooden acres. I also have a large barn. My HVAC costs are less than my mothers 1200 SQ.FT. home built in the late 50s. Our home's main HVAC is 85,000 BTU NG furnace at 97% efficiency. Our AC is 3 Ton with a SEER rating of 21. Home orientation with greenhouse is SSE with R60 attic and R40 wall insulation. House is completely wrapped with fiber cement board as the siding. Even during the worst blizzards, there are no drafts or noise.

I can also heat the home with 3.5 chords of wood. Less if we have a particularly sunny winter. That is with a heating load of 6000+ heating degree days (HDD). I expect it to get much higher during the coming years.

You pay up front to do it right else you pay a recurring HVAC tax. I know many of middle America who love our retreat in the woods and would be grateful owners if they could do it all over again.

[buckalfa]

"BS, no one in Middle America can afford or wants to spend outrageous expenses to heat and cool these monstrosities."

Utilities in the age green are only going to go up. Smaller houses under $150K make sense. Yet, try to get conventional financing on something small and the banks treat it as substandard housing.