Choosing a Smaller Home Builder to Build Your Energy Efficient Home in AZ Can Come with the Good and the Bad

The advantages of going with a smaller, custom home builder in Arizona are:

1.       Your floor plans, layout and design are all customized to your vision (along with your architects) and they, most likely, will be only slightly changed.
2.       You get more bang for your buck than you would with a Pulte, Toll Brothers or publicly traded builder.
3.       You have more control throughout the process and will be working closely with the architect.
 
However, from an energy efficiency standpoint, the disadvantages include:

1.       Custom home builders may not have the resources to create a highly efficient home.  Yes the architect may be LEED certified but even LEED for Homes has deficiencies that an architect may not catch unless they are also BPI certified.
2.       Because architects are working so close to the home owners things that are best for efficiency may conflict with the homeowners desires and may ultimately be disregarded.
For example, it is best to have subterranean returns in the Phoenix area with air handlers and ductwork located inside the home.  Unless your architect designs your home from day one, they may have to start from scratch because there was no space left to put the air handler or ductwork inside and the homeowner did not want to give up any livable space for an AC unit.
3.       A smaller builder (whose company is not publically traded) will likely sub his trades out. This is disastrous for efficiency. This was how homes were built for the last 100 years: you have the framer, electrician, HVAC, plumber and drywaller all working separately. This is the main cause of inefficiencies in a home.