New Minn. Habitat house is super energy-efficient

This is a short article but insightful as to the building standards we can aim towards, even on housing that is on a tight budget.  Kudos to Habitat for having the vision to understand that an additional investment upfront can help reduce operating costs and keep people in homes.

Thanks to Seattle EPI. com for the story:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A new Habitat for Humanityhouse in north Minneapolis is the group's first home built to use solar energy for heating, cooling and hot water.

University of Minnesota architecture students designed the house to be "Net Zero," meaning it generates at least as much energy as it uses. It's part of a larger project that aims to build 100 energy-efficient, eco-friendly homes within five years, Minnesota Public Radio reported (http://bit.ly/1cC5SXw ).

"We always build as efficiently as we can," said Matt Haugen, a spokesman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. "But this is above and beyond what we normally do."

The house cost $213,000 to build. The more traditional Habitat house next door cost $160,000.