Well, I'm just guessing, but having lived in Vermont all my life, I know a little about heating. :)<br><br>Probably a slab foundation that is run out under the driveway, which is paved, and poured deepenough to make a heat well. Lots of southern windows, triple pane, with shades for summer. Dark roof material and paint, maybe. And possibly in-floor heat- rather than heating the ceiling like most duct work, this goes under the floor and keeps your feet warm and the floor warm enough so that it doesn't conduct heat away, proably on a closed loop of water, so you aren't heating cold water. <br><br>And I'd wonder where the 60$ for heating is. In someplace like coastal North Carolina or Kansas, it's one thing. In Vermont, it's another.

I heat my 1800 sq. ft. bilevel home in SE Pennsylvania for less than $200 per year ( 15,000 BTU propane space heater ). Temperature is a constant 70 degrees. The cost could be further reduced if I was more attentive to the solar situation (But "passive solar requires active people") Key elements : R-40 ceiling, R-30 side walls, square design to minimize the perimeter, and as the builder put it, there is more "mass" in the lower level than there is in the Luray caverns.

The name of the game is the sun. The house had a lot of windows to let sunlight in. He built solar collectors, which were basically tanks of water. As the heat dissipated from the water, it would heat the house. You could let more water out of the collectors if it got too hot (ie: summer).<br><br>He took insulation very seriously, as well as the position of the windows. More windows towards the side of the house that faces the morning/afternoon sun. I believe the whole house was built into the side of a small mountain. I wish I could remember the exact reason for the mountian; I'm sure it had something to do with heat radiating from it.<br><br>The big thing that struck me was the number of windows; lots of skylights.<br>

Check out this building Claims no heating bill year round in Telluride Co. They certainly get cold weather.<br><br>http://www.formworksbuilding.com/TellurideCO.html

>>Check out this building Claims no heating bill year round in Telluride Co. They certainly get cold weather<<<br><br>I don't think they are claiming it's comfortable without heating, just that the pipes won't freeze without heating. Looks interesting, but how's the resale value of an underground house with limited natural light?

I don't knw people, but as i moved to sweden for 6 years ago, we bought and renovated a old house on a forest that we renovate. The best insulation we did on the roof, but on the lower level we didn't insulate at all, the only insulation is problably the old walls about 100 years old. The only heating is a so called in sweden, an energy kasset, what is a iron made fire place that warms up cold air threw some airspaces around the fire and releases heated air on the upper side. Very effective. I spend around $300 a year. Before i used to gatter all the wood myself, than it was really cheap! The very positive is that i can survive without electric power for a long time. Last year my family was without power for 8 days, no problems ( except for the kids that thought it was boring without TV) i even kept the old wood stove in case the normal gas stove would stop. It gets pretty cold around here in the winter, i've been recording -20 deggres celsius!