@Michael Noto - That's good...I will be adding an owners panel in my NB property.

You can get acrylic panels (about the size of a sheet of plywood and 1/4 - 3/8" thick) which have a high heat resistance - they were frequently used in engine rooms and galleys of boats and in fish plants when I was a kid.  

New windows, boilers, hot water heaters, apartment electric sub-panels all within the last 6 years.

A few details: 80’ wide lot, newer furnace, metal roof, collapsed out-building on the property that needs to be removed, needs electrical panel replaced (which I can do, assuming local code allows me to), needs siding or paint.

The difference between the two: modular are also known as 'ship flat' (and assembled from panels/modules on site) , manufactured as shipped 3D or such, in one piece.

Fresh off the press:http://abc7.com/technology/california-energy-commission-approves-requirement-for-solar-panels-on-new-homes/3450672/

If you're building from the ground up.... consider Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) homes.Essentially, you get VERY light pallets, which are like styrofoam panels that sit parallel to each other, being connected by plastic accordion doohickeys to make the "block" form. 

I am in the process of starting a rehab and there are a few things in the house that I am debating on, I would appreciate if people can share their thoughts on these1) False ceiling in basement VS dry wall2) Remove of Keep old whole house fan or remove it completely or replace it3) Wooden panels (1/3) in basement wall - remove it  or paint itThanks

Does anyone have a ballpark idea of how much it would cost to get one of these upgraded to a safe and modern panel?

I'll also say that on the few rehabs that I've done on houses built prior to 1978, the houses were full of old dark ugly paneling and really ugly wall-paper (applied directly to the sheet-rock, not to painted surfaces), so I haven't really had to deal with it.