Interesting links, and the basement insulation link is good reading. Seems to recommend exterior insulation, which is a problem for me now. But it's something that homebuilders should be considering, or required to use.

We have low humidity in Denver, so I'll keep this one around and try some of the recommendations as we look to finish ours.

For electric heat, a gas furnace is 80-95% efficient in terms of energy. We have an 85% efficient furnace we put in last winter. If we were to use electricity, given the production, transmissions, step-down, etc., I see estimates that we're 30-40% efficient in terms of converting energy. That doesn't make sense, especially as the transmission of gas has a low energy usage (large investment in piping, but that's mostly sunk, low ongoing).

However, in a superinsulated house, it seems that the waste heat from your TV, fridge,etc. can heat the house into the 60s. A relatively small furnace could get you to 70-72F if that's what you wanted.