Builders and developers, whether public or private, can learn from the success of Columbia County NY Habitat for Humanity, which uses Passive House methods to provide high-quality, healthy, and affordable housing. Key lessons include strategic site planning, envelope assemblies and details friendly to unskilled labor, and keeping to budget while coping with design changes, building code variations, fluctuating costs and availability of materials, and evolving Passive House standards.

Jurisdictions throughout the NESEA region and beyond are actively pursuing the decarbonization of new and existing buildings. Through legislation, executive action, and performance goals in the building code, the Northeast is leading the building industry toward zero carbon and zero energy buildings. In this session, particular focus will be on building a retrofit economy through technology deployment, zero energy policy development, energy benchmarking, performance reporting, and carbon reduction mandates.

Finch Cambridge is the largest new construction affordable housing development in the City of Cambridge in 40 years. As a Passive House project with a 105 kW PV array on the roof, it will also be one of the most operationally energy efficient buildings in Massachusetts. Currently in the final months of construction, this project has many important lessons to teach teams interested in Passive House certification. This session will focus on challenges, approaches tried, and how our extensive team of designers, builders and consultants worked together to execute.

There’s been a surge in interest in Passive House multi-family new construction in the Northeast. So what kind of differences are we really talking about from conventional projects? Can we educate our design and engineering teams to get there? Hear from two of Massachusetts’ first Passive House affordable projects: Beacon Community’s 55-unit Old Colony and POAH’s 135-Unit Mattapan Station. Find out changes in design and construction both projects had to make. Learn about incremental costs and savings.

This session will provide concrete tools and answers on how to draw down carbon in our buildings starting today. We’ll focus on low-rise buildings, where most new construction and renovations happen and which are currently under-represented in embodied-carbon design and analysis. We will present critical construction details such as band joist insulation selections and sloped ceiling retrofits, as well as whole-building design strategies.

If insulation, air sealing, performance testing, and high-efficiency HVAC systems were as exciting to home buyers as granite countertops and walk-in closets, the demand for energy-efficient homes and energy efficiency upgrades would increase dramatically. Home energy labeling allows owners, realtors, and developers a platform to market and value building energy efficiency. It provides a strategy for educating, engaging, and exciting consumers about high-performing home features that lower utilities, improve health and comfort and increase home value.

This session will explore both high level monitoring protocols and in-depth performance results of energy and indoor environmental quality measurement within PHIUS+ multi-family buildings to outline opportunities and lessons learned. The presentation team will discuss findings from a detailed monitoring study comparing two nearly identical affordable housing multi-family buildings in Chicago, one meeting EnergyStar® Multi-family requirements and the other PHIUS+ standards.

Urgent climate goals require state programs such as Mass Save to better target comprehensive decarbonization – applying efficiency, electrification, demand response, and solar+storage – in an equitable manner that addresses differences in local building characteristics. Meanwhile cities and towns, including low income/urban, suburban, and rural communities, are making commitments to local climate neutrality and social equity for their citizens.