Heat pump retrofit options have improved substantially in recent years. Several programs have offered generous support for multifamily electrification projects to limited numbers of early adopters. Many more buildings may need to electrify to meet ghg limits set by policies like LL97 in NYC, BERDO in Boston, and BEPS in Washington DC. Yet electrification remains out of reach for most buildings due to high first costs and uncertainty about performance.
While performance data from early adopters is beginning to come in, these results remain inaccessible for most owners, contractors and even policymakers. Patterns are already emerging (e.g. certain technologies perform significantly better than others), but there is no mechanism to disseminate this information to the public or to ensure program data analysis is rigorous and consistent enough for industry wide-learning.
The lack of available data creates both risks and missed opportunities:
Without accessible performance data, we may fail to learn key lessons from past programs, and risk spreading word of perceived problems with heat pump retrofits.
Building owners may be slow to adopt new technology even when incentives are available, making it hard to build a track record of success.
Future Housing is a partnership between Building Energy Exchange, Bright Power, Kinetic Communities Consulting and Cadence OneFive. Future Housing has already developed a data framework, data collection and analysis tools, an expert advisory group, and a track record of receiving funding and producing valuable data and research.
Momentum, a platform for implementing building retrofits developed by Cadence OneFive, provides a ready-made way to disseminate this information to the public. Momentum is in use by multiple building decarbonization programs including the NYC Accelerator, IMT’s Building Innovation Hub, Climate Friendly Homes Fund, with more programs expected in the next year. Momentum has hundreds of active users each month including real estate companies, contractors, consultants, program managers, and government agencies. With this positioning and user base, Future Housing + Momentum can ensure performance data gets in front of buildings and programs actively working on electrification.
Assemble and augment data on recently completed multifamily electrification retrofits in the Northeast: Develop criteria for project inclusion. Contact existing programs supporting electrification such as REDI, Climate Friendly Homes, Clean Heat, others. Work with each program to identify applicable projects, review already completed M&V data. Augment data collection and analysis as needed to ensure consistency.
Bright Power
Launch Data Hub and Case Study Library
Stand up a publicly accessible Data Hub to house this retrofit data via Momentum. Design Data Hub back-end and user features including data download and case study presentation. Support public launch of Data Hub in partnership with NYC Accelerator, Building Innovation Hub and other participating programs. The Data Hub will be maintained by Cadence OneFive and serve as a durable home for performance data on low-carbon housing and electrification retrofits to build market understanding and trust.
Cadence OneFive
Resident Surveys
Expand resident experience and health risk surveys for a subset of properties in the Data Hub: Identify criteria and process for choosing subset of properties and an approach peer set for comparison. Conduct resident surveys to provide holistic performance information alongside energy and carbon performance. Upload resident results into the Data Hub. Provide tools and education so measuring resident experience and health risks becomes a standard for electrification programs.
Strategy Notebook
Future Housing: Multifamily Electrification Database via Momentum
The Need #
Heat pump retrofit options have improved substantially in recent years. Several programs have offered generous support for multifamily electrification projects to limited numbers of early adopters. Many more buildings may need to electrify to meet ghg limits set by policies like LL97 in NYC, BERDO in Boston, and BEPS in Washington DC. Yet electrification remains out of reach for most buildings due to high first costs and uncertainty about performance.
While performance data from early adopters is beginning to come in, these results remain inaccessible for most owners, contractors and even policymakers. Patterns are already emerging (e.g. certain technologies perform significantly better than others), but there is no mechanism to disseminate this information to the public or to ensure program data analysis is rigorous and consistent enough for industry wide-learning.
The lack of available data creates both risks and missed opportunities:
Opportunity #
Future Housing is a partnership between Building Energy Exchange, Bright Power, Kinetic Communities Consulting and Cadence OneFive. Future Housing has already developed a data framework, data collection and analysis tools, an expert advisory group, and a track record of receiving funding and producing valuable data and research.
Momentum, a platform for implementing building retrofits developed by Cadence OneFive, provides a ready-made way to disseminate this information to the public. Momentum is in use by multiple building decarbonization programs including the NYC Accelerator, IMT’s Building Innovation Hub, Climate Friendly Homes Fund, with more programs expected in the next year. Momentum has hundreds of active users each month including real estate companies, contractors, consultants, program managers, and government agencies. With this positioning and user base, Future Housing + Momentum can ensure performance data gets in front of buildings and programs actively working on electrification.
Key Steps #