About the Energy+ Initiative

The Energy+ initiative is a program to design, implement, and evaluate residential energy efficiency-focused capital improvements specifically for affordable housing in the State College area. This program will systematically address residential energy efficiency towards “permanent affordability” of existing housing stock in order to lessen resident energy burdens, reduce the environmental impact of existing housing stock, and enhance the public investment in housing affordability. 

Who We Are
Building on the vision, methods, and success of the high performance, permanently affordable GreenBuild duplex built in 2018, this initiative engages three affordable housing partners - the State College Borough, the State College Community Land Trust (SCCLT), and The HOME Foundation (THF) - with two educational partners at Penn State; the Hamer Center for Community Design, the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center (PHRC), and industry partner Envinity, Inc.

By partnering with other regional housing entities, the Energy+ Initiative is improving energy efficiency in rentals and in first-time homebuyer programs, as well as for already extant owner-occupied housing. ​

Pilot Phase
The pilot phase of this project has focused on the design and integration of energy audits into the acquisition and rehab processes for the participating affordable housing agencies. The pilot consists of 15 project sites (houses and rental units) belonging to THF, the State College Community Land Trust and Borough homeowners participating in the Borough's Occupied Housing Rehab Program.

​Following an energy audit and research of best practices on retrofit solutions that appropriately balance the initial cost, long-term operating costs, existing building conditions, occupant living arrangements, and moisture management/building science considerations, renovations were completed at the pilot project sites. Following the retrofit process, researchers from PHRC and the Hamer Center will evaluate energy savings and craft final pilot program documents and recommendations for future project phases.