Multifamily housing accounts for 20% of greenhouse gases. That makes taking advantage of unprecedented incentives and funding via the Inflation Reduction Act critical. This blog post previews new tools from Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) and Cadence OneFive to help the affordable housing sector unlock the potential of this landmark investment in affordable housing and energy efficiency.

This article is an overview of HUD's Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). It was developed with help from National Housing Trust (NHT) and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF). GRRP, a $1B IRA program, has issued $1M in awards but the program has seen lower application volume than expected to date, leaving more resources still available for applicable projects. The article recommends that developers assess their portfolios for eligible HUD subsidized properties, so these resources are not left on the table. It also includes information on changes to make it easier for housing owners to incorporate funding into their projects.

The Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Roadmap ("the Carbon Roadmap") allows portfolio owners to use results from the SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator to set targets for decarbonization and develop a list of priorities for portfolio segments or decarbonization strategies.

The SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator ("the Calculator") allows portfolio owners to calculate their annual greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalent. It was created to allow multifamily portfolio owners to understand their carbon emissions baseline based on actual and estimated data, and to help measure carbon reductions.

Geothermal heat pumps offer highly efficient heating and cooling without fossil fuels. They are especially valuable in supplying heating on extremely cold days and support heating electrification with only modest impacts on electric grids. These heat pumps are widely applicable from single family homes to large properties, or even networked systems providing heating and cooling to entire neighborhoods. The blog article highlights the characteristics of this technology and new opportunities for greater adoption.

This case study showcases Allston Brighton CDC’s approach to decarbonizing multiple properties through deep energy retrofits. This nonprofit affordable housing owner in Boston has emerged as a champion of building decarbonization. They are poised to cut energy consumption by an impressive average of 55% across 103 residential units. What’s more, their team members have offered a one-page guide for similar building owners and projects on how to pursue various funding sources for retrofit success.

This tool is the Multifamily Portfolio Screening Worksheet, Screening Data Collection Template, and can be used to screen properties for inclusion in a full portfolio analysis. Portfolio screening aims to identify properties that are likely to be high priorities for decarbonization. This is an interim product of the Housing Partnership Network (HPN) “Readiness” program that provided direct technical assistance to 24 nonprofit HPN member organizations, including 16 multifamily affordable housing developer-owners.

This tool is intended to assist Community Development Financial Institutions with filtering potential early adopter borrowers for high-performance building projects. It can be used for high-level planning purposes. It also aims to help match potential funding sources with projects needing financing. It was developed for the HPN CDFI Readiness Cohort, which helped eight Community Development Financial Institutions create strategies to launch and expand clean energy business lending programs by integrating clean energy financing into their existing services.

This blog post details the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) finalization of Part 1 of a national zero emissions building definition, emphasizing operational carbon emissions. This definition outlines three key criteria for buildings: energy efficiency, no on-site emissions, and the use of all-clean power sources. It aims to enhance public health, lower energy costs, and protect the climate. The post highlights the positive industry and advocate reactions, notes the importance of addressing embodied carbon in future updates, and explains how new and retrofitted homes can meet the definition. It emphasizes the economic feasibility and investment potential in zero-emission buildings and outlines steps for builders to achieve compliance.

This post examines the work involved to incorporate decarbonization and resilience upgrades into multifamily retrofits. Industry leaders share their perspective on the considerations the affordable housing industry must keep in mind to meet this moment.