&gt;<i>why shouldn&#x27;t they have them?</i><p>It&#x27;s not only about the energy the house uses once built, but also about the energy and materials used to build it, the energy and materials used to fill it with <i>stuff</i>, the encouragement a larger space has on consumption, the using up of valuable space selfishly so other people can&#x27;t use it, etc. etc. etc.<p>&gt;<i>having energy prices take into account whatever externality Vox is specifically concerned about</i><p>You can&#x27;t fix everything with money. At some point, people are going to have to use vastly less resources, and simply making it more expensive is not the solution.