Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing
Program Description:
Grants and loans will be made available through HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Preservation (OAHP) for eligible property owners:
- to make energy and green retrofit investments in the property
- to ensure the maintenance and preservation of the property
- the continued operation and maintenance of energy efficiency technologies,
- and the timely expenditure of funds.
Physical and financial analyses of the properties will be conducted to determine the size of each grant and loan. Incentives will be made available to participating owners. The terms of the grants or loans will include continued affordability agreements. Grant and loan funds must be spent by the receiving property owner within two years. Full detail of how to apply, and grant and loan terms, will be published in a Housing Notice on May 13, 2009.The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this program is 14.318.
Toward a Zero Energy Home
A Zero Energy Home (ZEH) -- a home that produces as much energy as it consumes -- is an idea whose time has come! Authors David Johnston and Scott Gibson (Green from the Ground Up) explore the design and construction of self-sufficient houses from start to finish.
They make the case for a ZEH; cite climate and geographic challenges; describe exactly how to go about building an energy-efficient home; and feature ten houses that were built for zero energy living. With unequaled knowledge and a passion for the subject, the authors walk readers through the process of building and living in a truly green home.
Read more about Zero Energy Home or purchase the book.
The case for green retrofits in 2009 - A call to action
Homeowners have been remodeling their homes to:
- improve the aesthetics
- increase space
- make the home more kid-friendly
- or to raise their quality of life.
The 1970s were a wake up call that the US was becoming too dependent on foreign oil. As long as the oil embargo lasted Americans were interested in reducing their energy use and retrofitting their homes. The US Department of Energy created a solar program and researched how to reduce building energy use. I was privileged to be part of that process. We knew then how to reduce energy in homes to the extent that if we had kept building more energy efficient and solar homes we would have saved the equivalent of the amount of oil we import from the middle east by today.
Alas, as oil prices came down and life returned to “normal” the interest in energy efficient homes went away. In 1985 the tax credits for solar expired and the solar industry withered on the vine. The Europeans and the Japanese took up the cause and continued to reduce energy use in all sectors and are the global leaders today. We are just waking up again.
