Success Story: Electrification in Austin with Katherine Parks (Chicago)
This resource offers a case study of work done as part of Elevate's Building Electrification Program and the estimated savings for a Chicago homeowner in the Austin community.
Colorado Multifamily Affordable Housing Electrification Hub
The Hub is a technical resource designed to help equip the multifamily affordable housing community in Colorado with electrification design and decisions through access to technical resources, peer learning, and financing and development resources. This resource supports Colorado’s Renewable Energy and Climate Action Goals. In addition to local code compliance, building electrification can help reduce carbon emissions, improve indoor air quality for residents, reduce operating costs, and more.
Millions in HUD Funding Still Available Through GRRP
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.
Carbon Roadmap: SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Roadmap Tool
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.
Carbon Calculator: SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator
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.
Healthy, Climate-Resilient Homes for All: Centering Housing Justice and Health Equity in Building Decarbonization
National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) supported the leadership of the Building Energy, Equity, and Power (BEEP) coalition in creating this issue brief. The brief examines how we can center the leadership of disinvested communities and integrate health equity in building decarbonization to create a more just and equitable future.
IRA Bootcamps
National Housing Trust (NHT) hosted a series of sessions for Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) and multifamily affordable housing providers to offer peer support and personalized learning opportunities for leveraging IRA funding. The virtual sessions ran from May - December 2023, and users can access the content from each session on NHT's website.
Salem Heights Apartments: Deep Energy Retrofit Case Study (Massachusetts)
Salem Heights Apartments, an affordable multifamily property in Massachusetts, recently underwent a deep energy retrofit to achieve passive house performance. This case study highlights the retrofit design strategies that enable 60% energy use reduction and show the integrated benefit of efficiency improvements, electrification, and solar. Specific strategies are described for the building envelope, exterior insulation, HVAC, and solar energy.
Energy Service Agreements for Deep Efficiency and Electrification Retrofits of Affordable Multifamily Housing in California
Over half of California’s 3.2 million multifamily units were constructed before energy efficiency standards, resulting in poor performance and high greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, affordable multifamily housing must improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and lower tenant utility bills while enhancing quality of life. Yet building owners face many challenges to improving the performance of their buildings. This report covers the role certain types of energy service agreements, combined with federal incentives, can play in scaling affordable multifamily retrofits.
Clean Energy 101: Geothermal Heat Pumps
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.