Our PV system cost us $8k out of pocket to install, provided $904 worth of electricity in the last year, and I just cashed a check on our first year of SREC sales of $1600. I don't expect the SREC numbers to stay anywhere near that high, but thats an ROI that blows away any other investment I have made. It should continue to crank out that power for the next 20-30 years. You may or may not agree with the public policy aspect of the subsidies provided, but as a homeowner you can't beat it with a stick. Last summer we ran up a $2200 bill for water, keeping a relatively small lawn alive (not something I would have done had I known!). If I had any intention of using that level of water a $10k investment to recycle would probably make a lot of sense. Not to me though; the lawn is on its own! We insulated and sealed the heck out of our place. Keeping the old house at 45 degrees for the winter before we began remodeling cost $1600 in oil. After doubling the size of the house and turning the thermostat up to 68 our gas bill was under $800 for the winter, with a bunch of sealing yet to complete. The payback will be much longer, but we also get the benefit of a very comfortable space, without the drafts int he old house. The beauty of insulation is that it should continue to provide that benefit for the next century plus, with no additional investment over that period. (Plenty of 2-300+ year old houses in the neighborhood, chances are good the house will survive). I expect my payback (taking opportunity cost into account) to be long, real returns of a few percent a year, with my heirs perhaps getting a better price for a quiet, well insulated house. I don't regret paying it forward in this way-- I appreciate the way our ancestors built with quality, and have a lot of satisfaction from creating a property that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Are you replacing them because the old ones look bad or what? In my opinion, few people looking at a house would check on the toilet brand or make sure it's low flush. If the old ones work, leave them: that's the lowest cost option. However, if you think you have to do this, get a Toto Dalton. When I priced them, they were $179 vs. $163 for the American Standard Cadet 3, and the Toto is a far better toilet in my opinion.

Hi! After much research here and elsewhere, we went for Kraus sinks in our kitchen (main sink and prep sink.) I had debated Silgranite (and know everyone on this board seems to prefer them) but I felt like stainless a nod to tradition with our 1917 colonial (not a farm sink kind of house!) And, with the placement in the kitchen, it complemented the stainless appliances - kind of a visual balance if you will. Anyway, I'm really pleased with them! The stainless (16 gauge - lower is better) was a better gauge than the Kohler equivalents (18 gauge.) It has a solid surface wrapping it under the sink for sure - it is heavy! And I loved that the grates came with it for no extra cost. (We didn't have those before so I'm getting use to the usage of it, but it certainly helps with protecting the stainless and keeping it clean.) A fantastic bang for the buck, I felt. I probably spent that difference somewhere else, but it certainly helped the budget. I love when I made smart decisions like that (with the help of the GW folks!) Here's a few pics - Good luck! P.S. The amazing folks on GW Kitchens convinced to go with the largest prep sink I could get in the cabinet (21") and I am SOOOOOO grateful. I absolutely love our prep sink. It has a disposal in it and is right across from the stovetop. Love. Here you can see placement of sinks in the kitchen:

Start with a talented architect unless you are a designer with design skills. Even then I highly recommend running it by an architect. We as non professionals don't know what we don't know and in the long run while it sounds counter intuitive, a talented architect will save you money. Put together a list of your must haves, wouldn't it be nice to haves, and in my wildest dreams maybe I'd like to have and work with your architect to create it. Really think about how you live and not the fantasy of how you think you might want to live if only. For example, my idea of entertaining is setting out a buffet and everyone coming over and helping themselves and sitting wherever. For small groups, I use my colorful fiesta ware, and for large groups, we do paper plates. However, in my fantasy, I am cooking up duck ala orange with all the trimmings for 10 people and serving it in my gorgeous dining room on specialty china while remaining perfectly dressed with no food spills on me. That's not my reality, so I chose not to have a formal dining room for that reason. It would be wasted space for us. Get everything decided on BEFORE you build. I mean everything. Windows, doors, flooring, appliances, plumbing, etc. Make the choices before and don't change your mind after because changes cost money. That also includes changes to the building itself. Don't suddenly decide you want a room opened up, or you suddenly need cased openings when you at first decided to do uncased. Stick to the plan your architect designs. Ask him/her to show you in CAD how you'll walk through your house and how it will look inside. Plan for a house that is U, L, I, T or H shaped so that you can have windows on at least 2 walls in all public rooms and in the bedrooms. And yes especially in the kitchen. A house with lots of natural light will live better than a dark house. Spend your money on the important stuff, windows, doors, HVAC, insulation, etc. The things that aren't pretty but will help you to live better. If you have to cut back, do it on the pretties. Design a house so that you're not walking through the kitchen anytime you need to get to another room or to get from the garage to other rooms in the house. Your kitchen should never be a thoroughfare. Make sure the house has good flow and a central organizing theme. (This is where a talented architect comes in.) Lots and lots of closets or built in storage. Figure out what you have and where you want it to go. If you can, orient your public rooms to face south so you get better passive solar heating/cooling. Avoid kitchens on west walls if at all possible. (You'll thank me for this advice in summer!)