[quote=treebeard]I totally agree with his premise, but our culture is sociopathically short sighted, I am frusted beyond end with this issue. As principal in an architectural design and engineering firm, I constantly beat on, diplamatically of course, clients to think longer term about their investments in the built environment. But generally once they discover that fact that the up front costs are say 5, 10, 20% for a particularly system, regardless of the payback period, there is no interest. None! The worst parties are "investors". It appears that the upfornt costs is the only concern.
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My clients are quite different. They almost always choose higher SEER AC systems with variable speeds. On windows we go with high quality Pella or Marvin for looks, but mostly for efficiency. We insulate homes to the max, use thermal barrier roof decking etc. Maybe it's Texas, or maybe my local area, but folks around here understand frugality and long term investment. We don't sell our homes as "green". We sell efficiency as a "no-brainer" cause the payback is so obvious.
Last home had 30,000 gallons of rain collection, a 8kw solar system, and an underground storage room. I love building for smart people. The best clients are the ones who have worked hard for a living. They get it right away.