REALIZE is adapting an innovative model from the Netherlands, known as Energiesprong, to catalyze mass-customizable, net-zero retrofits nationwide. Energiesprong, a public-private partnership, has implemented zero energy retrofits to the tune of almost 4,000 units over the past five years, with another 100,000 planned across Europe. This model employs a process that combines aggregation of demand coordinated with the supply chain to deploy prefabricated mass-scale retrofits. Think of it like an IKEA© net-zero retrofit!
Existing residential buildings account for roughly 20% of U.S. emissions. To prevent runaway climate change, our existing homes needs to become carbon neutral over the next few decades. This can be accomplished with deep energy retrofits combined with clean-energy supply. But only a tiny fraction of homes have been retrofitted. A root cause of the low rate of adoption is the disaggregation of both the supply side and demand side, with no entity demanding or selling energy efficiency at scale. This means every retrofit is a custom job, resulting in greater time, complexity, and cost and therefore, slow adoption.
We are working with leading partners and innovators on the supply and demand sides of multifamily home retrofits, including municipalities and government housing agencies, building owners and developers, manufacturers, and financiers.
Supported by awards from the US Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission, REALIZE is launching several pilots to demonstrate Energiesprong like retrofit packages. These projects seek to test the efficacy of solutions while organizing the supply chain to develop more integrated retrofit systems for deployment across the multifamily housing market.
Supported by a California Energy Commission award, REALIZE will organize the market in California to provide zero-net-energy retrofits at scale for disadvantaged communities across the state. The team will look to streamline everything from financing, to permitting, to the installation process for sets of turnkey net-zero retrofit solutions.
Robot is welding metal part in automotive industrial
RetrofitNY, an Energiesprong program in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and REALIZE are collaborating to work with manufacturers to accelerate the development of a robust supply chain for net-zero retrofit packages. The team is especially focused on bundled solutions consisting of components such as envelope panelization systems and modular, prefabricated, integrated mechanical system units. These pre-designed and prefabricated packages will result in enhanced quality assurance, and will streamline production and installation, making high performance building design and construction more efficient and cost competitive.
Department of Energy
Partner
California Energy Commission
Partner
Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
Partner
Noorda Foundation
Partner
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Partner
Energiesprong
Partner
Net Zero Energy Coalition
Partner
Passive House Institute US
Partner
Natural Resources Canada
Partner
Prospect Silicon Valley
Partner
Association for Energy Affordability
Partner
University of California Davis
Partner
California Housing Partnership Corporation
Partner
San Francisco Department of Environment
Partner
The Levy Partnership
Partner
Re:Vision Architecture
Partner
Staengl Engineering
Partner
Integral Group
Partner
David Baker Architects
Partner
Stone Energy Associates
Partner
Pembina Institute
Partner
Mitsubishi Electric
Partner
Goodman Manufacturing
Partner
RenewAire
Partner
PowerWise
Partner
Factory Zero tells us more about their monitoring systems and performance monitoring to manage maintenance needs, tenant behavior, and to ensure savings in retrofit buildings.
REALIZE observations from an August 2018 field trip to Energiesprong projects in the Netherlands
Sizing the market for integrated, all-electric mechanical systems, 2018
Social Equity, Affordable Housing, and the Net-Zero Energy Opportunity, 2018
REALIZE New York Supply-Side Convening—2016
REALIZE San Francisco Demand-Side Convening—2017
San Francisco Techno Economic Study
Techno Economic Study: How To Guide
San Francisco Bay Area Strategy Recommendations
Getting to Net-Zero Carbon in Multifamily Homes, 2016
Net-Zero Housing: The Energiesprong Model
Energiesprong Scaling in Europe—the Guardian
