Thanks for the reply, Kermitology. Good to know someone else is in the same boat. I've looked into SIPS; what the contractor was describing for us is a little different - build a standard stick-frame house, then put an adhesive on, stick styrofoam panels (interestingly enough built by the same company as the ICF panels, it's the same material) on the outside, then hang stucco on that.
It's really information overload for me with this!
The south-facing issue is a good point too - our house is south-facing, so the big windows will probably be that direction anyway. I don't want my house to bake in the summer though!
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