Cost
How much does green building cost?
There have been studies released examining green homes where pricing ranges from $13 per square ft to $435 per square ft. Most studies released only calculate and compare initial building expense. What if you pay 20% more for your home upfront but you don’t have a heating system or electric bill? What if you pay 40% more for your home and it cleans your water, purifies your air, grows food, and manages all waste onsite? How do you calculate those savings or expenses for the life of the home, which is it’s true cost?
The City of Seattle reports that the average incremental cost of meeting LEED Silver standards across all projects is 1.7%. The premium cost per-square-foot of LEED-certified buildings–the initial cost increase per-square-foot attributed to the inclusion of green features–is estimated at $3 to $5, an increase of just under 2% above traditional building costs. A 2003 study by the California Sustainable Building Task Force shows that an initial green design investment of just 2% will produce savings greater than 10 times the initial investment, based on a very conservative 20-year building lifespan. For example, $40,000 in green design in a $2 million dollar project will be repaid in just two years. Over 20 years, the savings will amount to $400,000.