Net-Zero Energy Development is Positive for Affordable Housing

Image Credit: Joe Mahoney, Richmond Times-Dispatch

The trend of constructing zero-energy buildings that consume a net zero amount of energy and annual carbon emissions has supplemented the robust green building movement but has also been criticized as unaffordable and improbable to implement on a wide scale. Even reasonably priced recent developments in Frederick, Md. and Traverse City, Mich. are out of reach for many renters who qualify for affordable housing units. However, the increase of green tax incentives and ZEB (zero-energy building) subsidies offered to housing authorities and developers by state and local governments has finally led to the application of net zero-energy initiatives to affordable housing. In recent months, projects like the Beckstoffer's Mill apartments in Richmond, Va., which offer units that are priced below market rate and are targeted at low-income and elderly populations, have opened to great fanfare from residents, community organizations, and sustainability advocates for their reduced dependency on electrical grids. In addition to tangible environmental benefits, this reduced energy consumption translates into substantial utilities savings for low-income renters and works to address the disparity between housing prices and incomes in many of America's neighborhoods. Though presenting additional initial costs, the principles of zero-energy construction dovetail nicely with many of the policies and attempts to find long-term solutions underlying affordable housing development at large. The savings realized from reduced energy costs, both by municipalities and development residents, means more available funds for a variety of other public works programs and additional money for residents to allocate to other costs, such as transportation and food, that are often closely linked with housing expenses. Zero-energy developments are "green" in every sense of the word and point to the future of affordable housing policies that will build upon decades of innovative approaches to solving tensions within communities by incorporating the promise of energy innovation into the very materials that comprise new and refitted affordable units. It may be getting a little easier to be green after all.