CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Concrete is a sweet insulator that acts in many ways like a temperature sponge, performing well very naturally with Passive Solar Heating and Cooling. The common use for concrete is as the base of a home or for the basement, and if you stop and consider basements you've been in, during the summer (at least to me) they've always been comfortable and cool. But it's uses aren't limited to just that function, you can use concrete for an entire structure and it will typically out perform anything on the market at regulating the temperature. It's also fire proof, so your insurance will be cheaper typically.

And, this isn't exactly 'green' related, but if there is one thing this country can do, it's make concrete.  Concrete structures almost HAVE to be made to custom order by American workers.  But let's say you've bought a standard above-ground, ranch home in the suburbs.  You can still get the benefits of concrete with concrete shingles and roofing tiles.  They are a bit more expensive on purchase, but are projected to last 50+ years through even extreme weather conditions. 

Think about vinyl siding and how easy it is to damage; how thin it is.  It's almost entirely for appearance; where concrete siding is tough, durable, and a great insulating layer.  Think about single roofing and how much it costs to get your roof done every 10 or 15 years, or after a bad storm.  Concrete shingles take a beating, insulate your roof where you lose most of your heat in the winter and you only have to pay for their installation once for every 4 or 5 times you'd have to reshingles your roof with the flimsy tiles we currently use.  And, additionally, they are paintable which means you can customize your siding like normal, but also your roof which most people don't think about.

Cost Savings will be dependent on how much concrete you use and how long you stay in the home. You can incorporate concrete just for the basement, as an above ground structure, with an earth-berm home or full covered earth home. Each way will vary costs to build (more concrete = more expensive) and yearly costs for utilities (more concrete = less expensive). So concrete is good for someone looking to stay put for a long time because the up front investment will save a lot of money over a long period of time. It's not so good for someone that moves often because they'd never get their money's worth out of the additional up front expense.