2022 Spring Issue - 49

CAROLINE JOHNS: There are there lots of opportunities
with passive energy sources, like groundsource
heat pumps. Anything that can use passive
energy is going to be helpful meeting the goals of
not only the development, but also the occupants.
Sustainability strategies don't have to be something
that is done in the sacrifice of something else. There
are ways to enable minimal energy use without
having to pay a lot extra for it.
STEVEN BAUMGARTNER: I believe we have to
challenge the idea of affordable housing as just a
typology or a goal in itself. It's about seeing housing
as part of a larger set of systems of mobility,
access to jobs and services, and urban infrastructure.
Energy and water and food systems need to
be considered as enablers for affordability, and in a
context that enables health, happiness, equity, and
economic growth for everyone who connects with
it. Developers, municipalities, and planners should
consider how affordable housing can be more than
a program element-how it can also build stronger
community connections.
BRIAN SWETT: In the Northeast, we are seeing
more adoption of building electrification and use of
heat-pump and mini-split systems for heating and
air conditioning. Also, with the renovation of historic
multifamily affordable housing, there are great
ways to increase energy efficiency. Castle Square
in Boston is an example: they added a solar array
to the roof, made the apartments much more comfortable
by adding insulation to interior walls, and
added a new insulated facade on top of the original
brick one.
What are some challenges of meeting
net zero energy or net zero carbon goals
for affordable housing?
BAUMGARTNER: Often a net zero building is
thought of as using as much energy every year as it
produces through on-site renewables. I don't think
that strategy is always necessarily the right one. We
need to consider the larger systems that serve this
building: the cleanliness of the electric grid-now
and in the future-and the opportunities that come
from the electrification of buildings. On-site renewables
may not always be the most effective or costeffective
or efficient way to achieve our goals. Again,
we have to consider not just the carbon attributes
of energy, but also affordability, access, health, and
transparency; these are all qualities of a sustainable
energy system, and they all have tradeoffs. You
could potentially solve one of them at the detriment
of another set of systems. There's as much an art as
a science to positioning these projects.
BROWN: We have done at least one net zero project,
and it worked well, but it was feasible only
because we received grant money to cover the
additional costs. The feasibility of net zero changes
over time because programs, incentives, and technologies
all change. We haven't focused on net zero
recently because we couldn't find money for it as
easily. However, we have stepped up our game on
Passive House strategies, which allow us to achieve
very tight building envelopes, high air quality, and
highly efficient heating and cooling systems.
PonTell: First, you have to be able to make the
business case that the operating costs of the property
will not be negatively affected by the net zero
goal-or even better, that they will be positively
impacted-because affordable housing runs on thin
margins. Of course, net zero doesn't have to have
an immediate payoff; it can be a mid- to long-term
payoff. That depends on the utility rates and the
regulatory environment of the locale. Second, for us,
net zero also has to make sense from a long-term
physical property operations perspective because
we don't sell our properties. So we very carefully
evaluate the life-cycle costs of each technology.
SWETT: Achieving net zero requires getting creative
with funding and financing. There are different pockets
of money available for renovating affordable
housing for energy efficiency and carbon reduction,
but also for addressing other factors. For example,
if you make the building envelope tighter, you also
have to address air quality issues as well to avoid
mold or mildew issues if ventilation is inadequate.
So it requires holistic thinking about a healthy,
energy-efficient, and decarbonized building.
SPRING 2022
URBAN LAND
49
2022 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 Spring Issue
