As the planet warms—with ever-worsening heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires—there is growing awareness of the need to curb climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. This is why, in a few short years, policy makers and designers have gone from pushing for energy efficiency to targeting carbon emissions reduction. Where previously the emphasis was on cost savings from reduced energy use, now the focus is on reducing emissions – even if it costs more in the short run.

This paradigm shift is rapidly changing expectations for both development and operations of affordable housing. One of the biggest changes is the demand to electrify our buildings. Electrification brings cost concerns, introduces new building systems and technologies, and creates new challenges for operations and maintenance. It also raises equity concerns, by potentially raising utility costs for residents and increasing the demand for electricity from dirty power plants.

In this program, the presenters will share examples of policies that are shifting the focus from energy use intensity to carbon emissions intensity, and what this means for how we design and build—and rebuild—affordable housing. Examples from recent housing developments in Boston, LA and northern California will illustrate some of the challenges and highlight strategies that affordable housing developers are using to electrify their developments. The discussion will incorporate equity considerations raised by the push for electrification, and how they might be addressed through policy and owner actions. Finally, the presentation will describe some of the new resources that are coming from recent federal legislation to support electrification.

BONUS – Be entered into win a copy of the new book by attending!

Continuing Education Units (CEUS) 1 hour in

• Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
• Building Performance Institute (BPI) NonWholeHouse
• Submitted for American Institute of Architects – AIA (HSW)
• Certified Green Professional (NARI & CGP)
• Certified GreenHome Professional (CGHP) Pillar(s): Energy, Health
• AIBD
• State Architect / Builder License may be applicable
• Passive House Consultant US (CPHC)

Lessons Learned:

1. Be introduced to state and local policies that are shifting the energy paradigm from energy efficiency to carbon emissions reduction.
2. See examples of how affordable housing developers are addressing electrification, especially for heating, cooling, and hot water.
3. Consider equity concerns of electrification and measures to offset inequitable impacts.
4. Become familiar with key new programs that offer resources to support electrification of buildings, including affordable housing.

Speakers:

Kimberly Vermeer, LEED AP Homes, is an interdisciplinary sustainability practitioner, author, and podcaster, with a special focus in multifamily affordable housing. Through her company, Urban Habitat Initiatives Inc., she consults to affordable housing developers to advance sustainability and climate resilience in their development projects and organizations. Committed to equity in sustainability and to delivering the benefits of green building to vulnerable populations, she works with teams to incorporate a full range of sustainability and climate resilience strategies into their projects. In her podcast, Green in Action, Kim shares stories of the people and organizations that are leading the transformation of the affordable housing sector through sustainable design and development. Kim is co-author, with Walker Wells, of the recently published book Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition. An experienced educator, she has developed and facilitated many professional education and peer learning events. Her background includes housing finance, policy, and development.

Walker Wells is a Principal at Raimi + Associates, a mission-driven urban planning and sustainability consultancy. He works with cities, neighborhoods, and community development organizations across the country to further green building and sustainable development practices through technical guidance, stakeholder facilitation, and development of innovative policies and programs.

Over the past two decades Walker has helped shape green affordable housing policy, educated hundreds of practitioners, and overseen the certifications of over 2,000 units of green affordable housing. He is a certified urban planner, a LEED Accredited Professional and a Green Rater and a lecturer in Green Urbanism at the Claremont Colleges and the UCLA Urban Planning Program. Mr. Wells is a 2013 Fulbright Fellow with the Royal Institute of Technology Urban Planning Program in Stockholm, a 2012 Pritzker Fellow at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and he served as an advisor to the State of California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

Prior to joining Raimi + Associates, Mr. Wells was Executive Director at the non-profit Global Green and oversaw the organization’s green urbanism projects. He has also held positions as Senior Urban Designer with Gruen Associates in Los Angeles, Planner with the City of Santa Monica, and an Urban Planner for the City of Malmo, Sweden.

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