...I don't want to start a religious war, but which energy standard an individual installs has more to do with their attitude towards the environment than with amortization!
If that were the decisive criterion, no one should buy a car either, because they never pay off; okay, you can make a car look like it pays off, but nothing more!
We build passive houses and that might pay off in 20 years or maybe not; but I don’t care, because our construction method is very sustainable.
Regarding the ventilation system: if yes, then with heat recovery; I rather don’t understand why anyone would intentionally make tight windows or walls leaky again...