This thread and the one on reducing electrical consumption in a home are related, in that they address what to do to reduce energy costs for a home. Addressing this for an existing house does involve understanding building science issues. It certainly is possible to improve any existing house, but that should start with a good energy audit. The solutions are there, but the costs depend on the extent of making changes.
In this thread, the matter of building a new house presents a golden opportunity to do things right; making the house better later will cost more than doing it right the first time. Given the current and expected increases in heating and electric power costs, it makes more sense than ever to make any new home in our climate in the "superinsulated" class, meaning much better than just "to code." One problem encountered is finding builders who know how to do it, and many simply aren't interested in doing more than the way they always have. The building science involved is well-established, and codes are slowly moving in that direction, but there is a lot of resistance in the trades. The push to do better has to come from those having a new home built, and that requires getting well-educated in the subject, to be able to insist on certain things.
The other approach to getting a "much better than to code" house is to go with an established company that factory-builds prefab or at least panelized houses to "superinsulated" specs and oversees installation on the building site. A search on "factory built superinsulated homes in New England" turns up a lot of providers.
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