Affordable housing and Electric Retrofits: the Why and the How

How do our region’s affordable housing and climate goals intersect? When it’s time to rehabilitate an older affordable housing property, there’s a window of opportunity to undertake measures that can reduce a building’s overall energy consumption and switch from using gas to electricity (known as “decarbonization” measures). This can bring big benefits for the households in the form of cleaner air and lower energy bills. This session will focus on the “why” and the “how” of decarbonizing older affordable housing properties, including buildings that mission-driven groups have recently purchased from private sellers, as well as buildings that affordable housing groups constructed decades ago and that are ripe for rehabilitation. There are a variety of good reasons that affordable housing groups may have to decarbonize, but we will especially focus on the Bay Area Air District appliance regulations that properties must comply with beginning in 2027. The panel will also discuss challenges for decarbonizing and review funding opportunities and portfolio strategies that affordable housing groups should be aware of to complete this work.

Co-presented by Enterprise Community Partners, SPUR, California Housing Partnership, Sierra Club