High Performance Isn't a Luxury

Last week, we talked about the carbon already spent and locked inside the historic brick walls of our cities. Part 2 of our 4-part countdown to America's 250th shifts from preserving our past to scaling our future.

In 2012, Onion Flats Architecture completed Belfield Homes, Pennsylvania's first certified #PassiveHouse development. Three rowhouses. Families transitioning out of homelessness. 80% reduction in heating and cooling demand.

What happened next surprised even us. We worked with housing finance agencies across the country to build Passive House targets into #LIHTC scoring criteria. More than 30 states adopted it. Thousands of affordable units followed.

Today that same thinking drives our #DeepEnergyRetrofit work in Boston, rebuilding exterior envelopes on older residential buildings while residents stay in their homes. No displacement. No demolition.

The cleanest energy is the energy we never need to use.