Through a comparative life cycle analysis of typical, nearly net zero, net zero and energy plus houses in Thailand, each having a net floor area of 141.4 m(2); this study demonstrates that the operational electricity demand of typical houses can be reduced by 37% by incorporating various energy saving measures and goes further to establish that this reduced demand can be partially, fully or-over met through in-house electricity generation by solar photovoltaic. Over a period of 50 years, the transition from typical to nearly net zero and net zero energy houses is assessed to offer total life cycle primary energy savings of about 69% and 86%, respectively; while the energy plus house is assessed to have (i) a potential of feeding in 7450 kWh of electricity into the public grid each year and (ii) the capability of being energy neutral in a life cycle perspective over a duration of 16 years. The embodied energies through the evolution from typical to energy plus houses are however noted to grow up to 214%, mainly because of the manufacture of photovoltaic panels. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.