Studio G’s Keihly Moore participated in the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) Affordable Housing Summit in June, where she presented “Positive Energy from Positive Change” to discuss how new regulations are pushing design and talked about the E+ Highland affordable housing project, which is set to go into construction this fall.
With various new policies going into effect, it can be overwhelming for clients. Keihly used E+ Highland to show how these policies were applied to achieve an energy-positive building.
“We are loving it,” she said of the new policies, “because it’s a great goal to strive for.”
The E+ Highland project will be located in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, consisting of twenty-three 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units. The building will be five stories tall and 100% affordable at 30 and 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). It will also include an art gallery/community room and is part of the ILFI Affordable Housing Pilot Program, the City of Boston E+ Green Building Program, and is targeting LEED Platinum and Phius Design Certification.
Energy Impact of Rental vs Ownership
A client’s decision for rental versus ownership units can impact multi-family projects’ system selection, architectural design, and energy usage. Rentals typically use centralized systems. These systems use larger equipment which requires more concentrated space but energy used by the building can be offset by PV panels. For dedicated systems typically used in ownership units, more “little spaces” are required for each unit and “often ends up using more energy,” Keihly said.
E+ Highland will operate as a limited equity co-op housing model, allowing residents to earn equity while maintaining future affordability. After energy modeling both system options, the team decided that centralized systems were the way to maximize energy efficiency to achieve the energy-positive goals.
Design Strategies & Tools
Keihly also discussed integrated strategies for passive building design, beginning with solar control, then high-performance windows, appropriate levels of insulation, air-tight enclosure, and balanced ventilation.
Studio G also uses WUFI Passive, which “helps us define all the energy use that goes into the building,” Keihly said. She said it is important to consider things like lighting, appliances, and plug loads, as well as elevator energy specifications, which might not be as obvious when considering energy consumption in a building. Even the small energy uses are all factored into the model.
E+ Highland features innovative systems to minimize carbon impact and offset energy use. The building’s domestic hot water production system uses CO2 as a refrigerant, reducing its carbon impact. While common in Europe, using this system in the US is still less common. The roof will feature solar panels on wave racks to “maximize the panels on your roof even more than the traditional system,” she said.
Click to watch Keihly’s presentation and others from Day 1 of the ILFI Affordable Housing Summit.
