Mortgage Costs of a Green Home Can Be Inconsequential as Evinced By Drake Landing Solar Community
Posted Aug 06 2008 8:15am
Last month, I told you about theDrake Landing Solar Community, which the Prime Minister of Canada dubbed the
greenest community in Canada. It’s an impressive project and the fact that the
52-unit communitysold outbefore construction was complete points us to
an important question. What are the mortgage costs of a green home?
The answer is, the increase in the up-front costs (which affect the monthly
payment) minus the amortized savings in the homeowners’ energy costs.
The formula may sound complex but its bottom line involves just two
computations, both percentages. The rule of thumb within the green building
industry is that a green home costs 10% more to build if the green attributes
are included in the project from the outset. Hence, the mortgage costs of a
green home will be about 10% higher when all is said and done. However, the
average green home consumeswell in excessof 10% less energy than its
conventional counterpart.
Last month, I told you about theDrake Landing Solar Community, which the Prime Minister of Canada dubbed the greenest community in Canada. It’s an impressive project and the fact that the 52-unit communitysold outbefore construction was complete points us to an important question. What are the mortgage costs of a green home?
The answer is, the increase in the up-front costs (which affect the monthly payment) minus the amortized savings in the homeowners’ energy costs.
The formula may sound complex but its bottom line involves just two computations, both percentages. The rule of thumb within the green building industry is that a green home costs 10% more to build if the green attributes are included in the project from the outset. Hence, the mortgage costs of a green home will be about 10% higher when all is said and done. However, the average green home consumeswell in excessof 10% less energy than its conventional counterpart.