Electrifying the Green Affordable Housing Program

May 30, 2024

In Los Angeles, most multifamily housing within disadvantaged communities contains inefficient heating and cooling equipment coupled with a lack of sufficient funding and financing options to electrify these buildings. TECH Clean California’s Quick Start Grant recipient, U.S. Green Building Council - Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) navigated access to healthier, safer, and cleaner energy-efficient equipment for affordable multifamily homes through the Green Affordable Housing Program. By implementing replicable heat pump retrofit installation strategies, USGBC-LA built market awareness to heat pumps in naturally occurring affordable housing, which refers to unsubsidized rental that is affordable because of low-market values. USGBC-LA also subsidized multifamily affordable housing in the Eastern San Fernando Valley.

Through the Green Affordable Housing Program, USGBC-LA engaged nineteen buildings across sixteen properties, reaching an estimated 1,710 residents. In total, USGBC-LA performed 11 heat pump space and water heating retrofits at three properties and retrofits at three unsubsidized properties all in disadvantaged communities. This project developed strategies for reaching residents and individual property owners in lower-income communities who face increased barriers to accessing the benefits of green technologies and electrification.

As for next steps, USGBC-LA plans to continue engagement with participating properties and portfolio managers involved in this project, build outreach strategies for engaging directly with single family property owners in lower income communities, and carry out implementing best practices produced in this project for participating contractors, property owners, managers, and program administrators looking to implement fuel switching projects to meet California’s decarbonization goals.

To learn more about this Quick Start Grant, visit techcleanca.com/quick-start-grants/2021-quick-start-grant-recipients/us-green-building-council-la/.

The TECH Clean California initiative is funded by California ratepayers and taxpayers and administered by Southern California Edison Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. The TECH Clean California team is led by Energy Solutions and partners with Ardenna Energy, Association of Energy Affordability, Building Decarbonization Coalition, Electrify My Home, Frontier Energy, National Comfort Institute, Energy Outlet, Recurve Analytics, The Ortiz Group, Tre’ Laine Associates, and VEIC.