Page 54 - Designing for Zero Carbon-Volume 2_Case Studies of All-Electric Multifamily Residential Buildings

CASE STUDY NO. 2
ROSECRANS PLACE
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(Opposite Page) Aerial view with rendering of completed Rosecrans Place project.
Likewise, the solar PV system, the same for each unit, was sized and installed based on the developer’s experience with previous similar projects. The intent was to install a solar PV system that provides roughly 30% of the energy demand of the individual unit. No analysis was done in advance to model the actual expected contribution of the solar PV system to offset this percent- age of the energy demand. (Note: as of January 2020, California’s Title 24 requires an estimate of that contribution as part of the documentation of code compliance. This was not a requirement in 2019 when this project was submitted for permit.)
Energy Performance and Operational Carbon: Post-Occupancy Measurement
Energy Use — Post-Occupancy Measurement
The individal units of the project were sold before construction was initiated. The first phase of the project, which included the live-work condominiums and some of the regular townhouse units near the main entry, were therefore all immediately occupied when that phase was completed in early 2022. The final phase of the project was completed in March 2023. The net result is that a full year’s record of utility bills for the individual units was not yet available for comparison with the energy modeling results at the time of printing this book of case studies. It will be interesting to compare the actual performance with the modeled amounts for some of the individual units when this utility data becomes available.
The solar PV system is not currently monitored collectively by the individual owners nor by the HOA. (The utility bills provide the data for the amount of solar energy delivered to the grid, which does not include the amount used on-site.)
With the absence of any energy use or energy production data at this early stage of occupancy, a comparison with the energy modeling results is also not possible at this time.
Post-Occupancy: Observations and Conclusions
Post-Occupancy: Observations of the Developer on the All-Electric Approach
G3 Urban has had a lot of experience in the past several years producing all-electric residential projects like Rosecrans Place. As such, the company has fine-tuned its approach that seems to have successfully produced the optimum marketing strategies, design features and cost-op- timization methods. Specifically concerning the all-electric nature of the projects, the developer characterized his experience as follows:
“It’s just not that difficult and I don’t find it to cost any more money to build compared to a traditional gas and electric site. It’s another utility provider you have to deal with and pay for (and make space for) and you also have to add more work and material for your plumber.”2
Note that this observation concerns only the business issue of profitability and is independent of the common issues of rising costs, the approval process and construction delays. The positive societal impact of lowering the carbon impact of the project is clear.
Post-Occupancy: Future Planning (Battery Storage and EV Charging)
Future projects will be required by code to include “battery readiness” in the form of electrical components and space designation. Anticipating this, Rosecrans Place has already provided the infrastructure for EV charging in each garage by installing the initial electrical service at the panel and the wiring for the circuit to the garage location.
2 Jordan Gardner, President of Homebuilding, G3 Urban, https://www.g3urban.com/
Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 2