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Redsigning homes? I dread walking into the dark cave built in the 70's so hopefully that does not resurface. A different method of cooling and heating is a logical change and available today but people have to adapt to it. Also, the spray foam insulation is an awesome product as long it doesn't come back as a toxant like asbestos. I spoke with a custom builder on a 4500 sq.ft home that used Spray foam. It adds about 5% to the cost but in that one particular home the cooling and heating cost will be about $250.
http://home.comcast.net/~ddtitus/
Cheaper to build, easier to build, less raw materials, much more energy efficient and will withstand winds and snowloads that would destroy a conventional house.
Why don't we see more of them? Fear. You can't get a loan for one, if you manage to get a loan, you can't get insurance because hidebound corporations are afraid of anything different.
We truly are a nation of mammoths careening headlong to destruction because some hairless primate waved a smoking stick at us.