Through the Affordable Housing New Construction (AHNC) pilot, developers and design teams working on low-income housing tax credit projects can receive incentives for achieving either U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home certification or Phius+ Passive Building certification on their project design. The pilot will test whether a dedicated program for affordable housing development can increase the number of low-income housing tax credit-financed projects pursuing energy efficiency certification, deepen energy savings, and support safer and healthier homes. This effort specifically targets income-eligible units to promote high efficiency building practices.

Project Timeline: January 2023 – December 2025
Customer Segment: Residential

Pilot Objectives:

• Determine the financial and technical support needed to create higher efficiency affordable housing by:
• Incentivize developers to build energy efficient housing to help alleviate tenant energy burdens.
• Providing technical assistance on energy efficiency building design and equipment upgrades to qualify affordable housing projects for Phius + passive building certification or DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Program certification
• Certify 100 affordable housing units, for Zero Energy Ready Home Program or Phius+ passive building certification