In an environment filled with uncertain financial and energy stability, homeowners seeking a sustainable home that can generate as much energy as it uses without using fossil fuels, can now meet their ecological as well as their economic goals. Bensonwood Homes, a designer and builder of sustainable and adaptable homes in Walpole, has cut costs by 10 percent on each of the four energy independent, Net-Zero, carbon neutral houses in its Unity Collection®.
The Unity Collection® of homes is evolved from Unity House, a home Bensonwood designed and built in Maine that recently received LEED Platinum certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating for environmentally sustainable construction.
Completed a few months ago, the energy performance of Unity House is better than expected, and to date has generated more power than it uses, in spite of a very cold winter.
The Unity Collection® homes range in size, from 994 square feet to just under 2,000 square feet, and in price, from the low $270Ks to the low $400Ks depending on design elements. These prices cover the entire house construction, including the foundation, solar hot water, all fixtures and appliances. For Do-It-Yourselfer (DIY) owner/builders who would like to finish out the homes themselves, there are “Shell Package” price points ranging from the mid $150Ks for the smallest house in the offering, to the mid $250Ks for the largest, and “Enhanced Shell Package” price points ranging from the high $220Ks to the low $360Ks, not including the photovoltaic arrays.
To see what’s included at the various price points and how the homes can be adapted to the needs of occupants, go to
www.bensonwood.com/unity.
