Services Provided by Healthier Dwelling for Affordable Housing Advocates

There are at least seven State and National programs providing energy efficiency incentives, solar incentives, green certification and tax credit equity for multi-family new construction, and most of these can benefit Affordable Housing projects.

Review your design and suggest ways to economize on materials and equipment while improving the health, durability, and efficiency of the building.

Green Designs create more value in a building, and they don't necessarily cost more. As a Certified Energy Plans Examiner, Healthier Dwelling can review your design and suggest ways to economize on materials and equipment while improving the health, durability, and efficiency of the building. The new Title 24 takes effect

July 1, 2009 raising the bar by 15%. You can no longer use double pane, low-E windows for energy credits, as they have become the default standard. It is necessary to plan more carefully and economize, particularly in sizing mechanical systems. In the past, HVAC systems have often been oversized, leading to poor performance and unnecessary expense.

Help you understand how the new regulations can allow you to take advantage of the emerging market for sustainable building and collect the incentives, rebates and tax credits offered by federal, state and local governments and by utility companies.

State and local Codes and Regulations are changing at a confusing rate, but Healthier Dwelling can help you be one of the contractors who is riding high on this Green Wave of change.  Understanding the fundamentals of the new regulations can allow you to take advantage of the emerging market for sustainable building and collect the incentives, rebates and tax credits offered by federal, state and local governments and by utility companies. In satisfying new Green Building Ordinances, you may also qualify for lower permit fees and expedited plan check.

As your HERS and GreenPoint rater, Healthier Dwelling can conduct the inspections required by most programs, including the performance testing required for additional Title 24 energy credits. Many programs will also pay at least part of the cost of your HERS rater and Energy consultant. In other words, Healthier Dwelling is able to pay for the cost of its services saving money on design, saving energy in operations, and qualifying your project for all the rebates, incentives and tax credits that it has earned.

Reduce your clients out-of-pocket expense and maximize their return-on-investment

Your clients are very cost conscious and don't want to spend money unnecessarily. The cost of energy now and in the future is so big and growing so rapidly that the prudent contractor will design and build to reduce the amount of energy consumed and the uncertainty of how much it will cost. Healthier Dwelling can help you and your clients reduce their out-of-pocket expense and maximize their return-on-investment. REDUCE the amount of energy your building needs, then PRODUCE on-site renewable energy from the sun, wind and water.

Use Passive House principles to drastically reduce the energy consumption of your buildings, far exceeding the 2008 Title 24 Energy Code and approaching the Net Zero Energy mandate of AB32.

Super insulated homes with passive solar design and proper shading require extremely little heating and cooling, especially in our mild Bay area climate zone. The Passive Haus principles developed on over 10,000 homes in Germany and around the world have proven remarkable effective. You save money in downsizing the mechanical equipment, and you keep saving money every month on your utility bill. Several of these homes have been constructed in Urbana, Illinois and elsewhere in the US as documented in the book, "Homes for a Changing Climate." There is currently a group forming in the Bay area called Passive House California promoting these principles, and one Passive House retrofit has already been completed in Berkeley.