Affordable Passive Houses
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is aiming at building affordable housing projects that conform to “Passive House” standards. The HPD released SustaiNYC, a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) for high quality, mixed income and mixed-use affordable housing development. Buildings certified to passive house standards use up to 75% less energy overall than existing buildings. The aim is to provide housing that will be sustainable and affordable for generations to come.
In 2016, Cornell Tech’s residential building consisting of 350 units was the tallest passive building in the world. The facade is built from a prefabricated metal panel system that acts as a thermally insulated blanket that wraps the entire building. The structure will operate with an energy recovery ventilation system that brings in fresh air and takes out stale air and will help residents save on electricity bills.
The main thing stopping sustainable housing is the presumption that it doesn’t come cheap. Once its able to be implemented keeping the prices affordable it would take less convincing to build passive houses. Integrating sustainability in the New York government’s plans to increase number of affordable homes would be a big step in that direction.
