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FAQQ. What qualifies as a high performance home? A. http://www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/ Q. Who can build me an energy efficient home in Fairfield? A. Steve Vessey, successful sustainable and Sthapatya Veda builder John Loin and Sally Gavre of Smart Homes Bill McAnally, a vocational/technical instructor at Iowa Central Community College, teaches high performance home construction. Here is a story about a $100/sq ft (about the average cost of inefficient new home construction in Fairfield) home that he is building with his students that has been called the most efficent home in Iowa. Fort Dodge Home Q. Where can I get information on retrofitting my house? A. Earl Mason of Mason City, Iowa is an expert in retrofitting homes to be highly energy efficient. (641)423-2647 Q. How much more will it cost to build an energy efficient home? A. If the design of the energy efficient home is created properly, you can save on building costs and energy payback. Q. Where can I see plans for high performance homes? A. Q. Where can I see high performance homes near Fairfield? A. Steve Vessey's stick frame home in Eco-village just outside of Fairfield. Kevin Hopf's underground built home in Fairfield. Lonnie Gamble's strawbale home at Surya Nagar Farm. Q. How much can I expect to save on my energy bills if I build an energy efficient home? A. Earl Mason designed a home for Habitat for Humanity in Mason City, Iowa that used super insulation and other conservation techniques that allowed him to eliminate using a furnace the home. He could heat his home in Iowa winters using only a hot water heater. In 2003, the home cost $175 to heat and cool. Perry Bigelow, a production builder located near Chicago, guarantees less than $200 a year heating bills on all his high performance houses. He sponsors a yearly contest for lowest heating bills, and he has had winners with less than $50 per year heating bills. See more about how Perry does this (along with a copy of his warranty) in this 1994 Home Energy magazine article: Bigelow Homes |