Materials

NYSERDA's Early Design Support Buildings of Excellence partners will showcase three affordable Passive House multi-family projects, each featuring a variety of electrification and decarbonization strategies. Magnusson Architecture and Planning, Curtis+Ginsberg Architects, and Paul Castrucci Architects will present their ongoing research on electrification strategies, integrating renewable energy, the value add of ERVs, embodied carbon strategies, and calculations to meet zero carbon such as ILFI's Zero Carbon framework.

There is considerable debate about the relative benefits of electrification with heat pumps and envelope improvements. It has been suggested that Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) are impractical & not cost effective. However, when an accurate Social Cost of Carbon is considered, DERs begin to look much more financially feasible. We apply a systems thinking lens to explore how carbon emissions are valued. We will present two multifamily DER examples to show the operational and embodied carbon reduction potential.

Embodied carbon accounting has made significant strides, yet challenges persist. Understanding the underlying assumptions behind EC calculations for each building element is crucial to accurate life cycle analyses, particularly on projects aiming for net-zero carbon and using newer technologies.

In the Northeast, we have the benefit and burden of a large stock of uninsulated masonry buildings of various typologies and conditions. Leaving these buildings as they are is untenable with the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, and will not address climate shifts, the fabric of community, or the health of occupants. We will explore insulating from the interior, exterior, or both.