Excellent article on the trend of luxury home buyers moving towards green building design: 

We're seeing more and more clients requesting that green homes be built for them," says Robert Wieboldt, executive vice president of the Long Island Builders Institute. Currently, 35 out of 200 builders belonging to the trade group are constructing green homes. That number was less than 12 a year ago, he notes.

Geothermal systems can add $20,000 to $25,000 to the price of a home, Wieboldt estimates, but the money can be recouped within seven years. Energy Star features add $5,000 to $8,000, with costs recouped in four to five years, he says.

Solar panels, which collect and convert the sun's energy into electricity and heat, have a net cost of $15,000 after utility rebates, recoverable in eight to 10 years, says Marc Clejan, chief executive of Bridgehampton-based Green Logic Energy, which installs green features in new and existing homes. About 60 percent of the company's business is retrofitting.

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