An Evaluation of Affordable Housing Using the National Green Building Standard

756 Pages·2012·8.25 MB·English

An Evaluation
of Affordable
Housing
Using the
National
Green Building
Standard
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Office of Policy Development and Research
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An Evaluation
of Affordable
Housing
Using the
National
Green Building
Standard
Prepared for
U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development
Washington, D.C.
Prepared by
NAHB Research Center, Inc.
Upper Marlboro, MD
October 2012
Acknowledgments
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Healthy Homes and Lead
Hazard Control, Policy and Standards Division:
Peter J. Ashley, Director
HUD, Office of Policy Development and Research:
Edwin Stromberg, Government Technical Representative
Principal Investigators:
Lance Barta, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center
Marie Del Bianco, NAHB Research Center
Michael Grothe, NAHB Research Center
John Peavey, NAHB Research Center
Other Contributing Agencies and Housing Authorities
The authors thank the following public agencies and housing authorities for providing the
architectural designs and specifications that made this report possible.
HUD
The Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) VI Program
The HOME Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Alternative Housing Pilot Program
The City of Bayou La Batre in Alabama
The Louisiana Recovery Authority in Louisiana
The Oakland Housing Authority in California
The Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority in Virginia
The Seattle Housing Authority in Washington
The Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority in Ohio
The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Ohio
The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs in Maryland
Disclaimer
Neither the NAHB Research Center nor any person acting on its behalf makes any warranty,
express or implied, regarding the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed
in this publication or that such use may not infringe privately owned rights, nor assumes any
liabilities regarding the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of, any information,
apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this publication, or is responsible for statements made
or opinions expressed by individual authors.
The contents of this report are the views of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views
or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. government.
AN EVALUATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING USING THE NATIONAL GREEN BUILDING STANDARD
Abstract
Using the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) as the benchmark, this report provides
a retrospective evaluation of eight affordable housing designs that were built in compliance
with various green building programs. The areas of improvement include water conservation,
land design and use, energy efficiency, and green education. The total minimum cost of the
improvements is from $950 to $3,600. In addition, the report identifies how green remodeling
can enhance older houses (residential structures built on or before December 31, 1979) for a
minimum cost of $3,000. The NGBS is a nationally recognized, complete green building standard
that complies with Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-119, which establishes a
preference for federal agencies to use voluntary consensus standards.
ABSTRACT

Foreword
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through its housing development
programs and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) initiatives, now
actively supports the construction of affordable housing using green construction rating systems.
This represents billions of dollars in annual federal investment that now supports green building.
The expected benefits of these investments are to enhance the quality, longevity, and energy
efficiency of HUD’s existing and newly-developed housing stock, as well as to assist in the
creation and preservation of jobs in communities across the country.
As part of the Department’s commitment to create a sustainable future, the Office of Policy
Development and Research has initiated a series of research studies to support the Department’s
efforts to go green and to make HUD’s housing stock more energy-efficient. The study reported
here, An Evaluation of Affordable Housing Using the National Green Building Standard, was conducted
in partnership with the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. The purpose was
to estimate the incremental cost of adding green features to existing HUD-assisted properties to
make them fully compliant with green building guidelines. Using this, the financial feasibility of
bringing these units into full compliance with a nationally recognized, complete green building
standard was assessed. In this study, the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) was used as
the national standard, although others could have been used.
The study demonstrated that recent affordable housing designs under HUD programs are close
to meeting a green standard, and with modest design changes and modest cost increases—up to
$3500 per unit—and could achieve compliance with a green standard. This study provided strong
evidence that new or rehabilitated HUD-assisted housing can achieve green ratings at a relatively
modest incremental cost, and that such green enhancements would likely be cost-effective
because they focus on features that would yield demonstrable cost savings.
We at HUD recognize that much more research is needed to realize the full potential of the
greening of affordable housing, and this study represents a useful step in achieving that goal.
Raphael W. Bostic, Ph.D. Jon L. Gant
Assistant Secretary for Policy Director, Office of Health Homes
Development and Research and Lead Hazard Control
FOREWORD

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................................xiii
Summary of Evaluation Results: The Affordable House Designs ..................................................................xvi
Summary of Evaluation Results: The Pre-1980 Multifamily Apartment Building ....................................xvii
Summary of Key Findings ..................................................................................................................................xviii
Potential Policy Implications .................................................................................................................................xix
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1. Evaluation Protocol ......................................................................................................................................3
1.1. National Green Building Standard ..............................................................................................................3
1.2 Defining the Cost and Benefit Analysis ......................................................................................................5
1.3 The Greening Process .....................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2. Overview of the Baseline Green Ratings ...............................................................................................9
2.1 Baseline Green Ratings for Affordable House Designs ...........................................................................9
2.2 Baseline Green Remodeling Ratings for Multifamily Apartment Units.............................................15
Chapter 3. Case Studies: Making Green Improvements .......................................................................................17
3.1 Climate Zone #2 .............................................................................................................................................18
3.1.1 Louisiana Disaster Relief Housing ...............................................................................................18
3.1.2 Alabama Disaster Relief Housing ...............................................................................................28
3.2 Climate Zone #3 .............................................................................................................................................39
3.2.1 Oakland, California: Tassafaronga Development .....................................................................39
3.3 Climate Zone #4 .............................................................................................................................................51
3.3.1 Richmond, Virginia: Blackwell Development ............................................................................51
3.3.2 Seattle, Washington: High Point Development .........................................................................62
3.4 Climate Zone #5 .............................................................................................................................................72
3.4.1 Akron, Ohio: Edgewood Homes Development ........................................................................73
3.4.2 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio: Valley View Homes Development ......................................................94
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
3.5 Green Remodeling Using the National Green Building Standard .....................................................106
3.5.1 Montgomery County, Maryland—The Multifamily Example ..............................................107
Chapter 4. Key Findings and Green Research Topics ..........................................................................................129
4.1 Characterizing the Affordable Housing Designs ..................................................................................129
4.2 Characterizing the Pre-1980 Multifamily Apartment Units ................................................................130
4.3 Quantifying Benefits and Affordability ..................................................................................................131
4.4 Quantifying Energy Savings .....................................................................................................................131
4.5 Quantifying Water Savings .......................................................................................................................135
4.6 Limitations of This Study...........................................................................................................................136
4.7 Recommended Green Research Topics ...................................................................................................136
APPENDIX A COST DETAILS .................................................................................................................................137
APPENDIX B GREEN SCORING AND COST .....................................................................................................211
APPENDIX C ENERGY MODELS ...........................................................................................................................429
Endnotes ..........................................................................................................................................................................731
List of Tables
Table A-1. Description of Affordable House Designs and Pre-1980 Multifamily Apartment ..................xiii
Table A-2. Baseline NGBS Ratings for the Eight Affordable House Designs ................................................xv
Table A-3. Baseline Conditions of Pre-1980 Multifamily Units—Energy, Water, and IEQ .........................xvi
Table A-4. Simple Payback Periods for Energy and Water Improvements ................................................xviii
Table 1-1. Rating Levels for the National Green Building Standard..................................................................3
Table 1-2. Threshold Point Ratings for Green Buildings ......................................................................................3
Table 1-3. Remodeling Threshold Ratings for Energy and Water Consumption Reductions ......................4
Table 2-1. Baseline NGBS Ratings for the Eight Affordable House Designs ....................................................9
Table 2-2. Total Accrued Green Points Versus Performance Path ....................................................................11
Table 2-3. Baseline Existing Conditions per Apartment Unit—Energy, Water, and IEQ .............................15
Table 3-1. Baseline Rating for KC910 Model .........................................................................................................20
Table 3-2. Bronze Rating for KC910 Model ...........................................................................................................21
Table 3-3. Initial Cost to the Builder for the Bronze KC910 Model ..................................................................22
Table 3-4. Silver Rating for KC910 Model .............................................................................................................23
Table 3-5. Initial Cost to the Builder for the Silver KC910 Model .....................................................................23
Table 3-6. Gold Rating for KC910 Model ...............................................................................................................24
Table 3-7. Initial Cost to the Builder for the Gold KC910 Model .......................................................................25
Table 3-8. Emerald Rating for KC910 Model ........................................................................................................26
viii AN EVALUATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING USING THE NATIONAL GREEN BUILDING STANDARD