Page 61 - Designing for Zero Carbon-Volume 2_Case Studies of All-Electric Multifamily Residential Buildings

(Left, Opposite Page) Project site in 2018, prior to the instal- lation of the solar photovoltaic system on new canopy struc- tures above the parking areas and all phases of the building retrofit work.
This first phase was initiated by SHE, which had installed solar PV systems at their other mul- tifamily developments funded through the California Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP)4. The Vera Cruz Village installation was timed to be coordinated with the work done through the REALIZE-CA project team so that the entire retrofit project would result in an all- electric community. This work of this phase was initiated in 2019 and completed in August 2020.
Phase 2 was the main focus of the Vera Cruz Village project, namely the Demonstration Project to rehabilitate and retrofit the two central residential buildings. These two buildings, Building 615 and Building 619, contain eight apartment units. The renovation work of this phase constituted the basis of the research study, REALIZE-CA, and its primary funding by the CEC’s EPIC grant. This innovative work, intended to be standardized so that the techniques could be applied to similar affordable multifamily projects, is described in detail below.
Construction activity in Phase 2 commenced one year after Phase 1 was completed (August 2021) and was finished in March 2022. The work of Phase 3 was carried out simultaneously and was completed in May 2022.
Phase 3 consisted of the whole-building energy-efficiency retrofit of the 41 remaining apart- ments on the project site and the community building. The work done in this phase was a more conventional approach to energy-efficiency and electrification retrofits; a description is provided in the following sections.
Building Program
Since the project was basically to upgrade the building structures for energy efficiency and de- carbonization while the residents remained in their homes, there was no change to the current building spaces and uses. Planning essentially involved the design and coordination of physical changes to the building envelope and the mechanical/electrical infrastructure, with no changes otherwise to the individual unit spaces and community rooms.
Site Constraints
The site layout provides easy access to the exterior of all buildings, with Buildings 615 and 619 located conveniently in the center of the site, with access from all sides. Similarly, there are no obstructions that would shade any panel of the canopy-mounted solar PV system.
Building Envelope – Insulation
The Demonstration Project, consisting of the energy-efficiency retrofit of Buildings 615 and 619, transformed the building envelopes. This part of the work is based on a program of retrofitting multifamily housing in the Netherlands called Energiesprong 5, which encourages whole-building solutions such as applying manufactured insulated panels to the exterior walls and roofs of build- ings. The REALIZE-CA project team adapted this approach to the simple wood-frame building forms of these two buildings in the effort to demonstrate that it could be rapidly deployable for similar multifamily building types in the U.S.
4 The Low-Income Weatherization Program’s (LIWP) Multi-Family Energy Efficiency and Renew- ables Component of the California Department of Community Services & Development provides technical assistance and incentives for the installation of energy efficiency measures and solar photovoltaic systems in low-income multifamily dwellings serving priority populations. https:// www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Multi-Family-Energy-Efficiency-and-Renewables.aspx
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energiesprong. See also: https://energiesprong. org/?country=california.
Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 2
(Following Pages) The floor plans of Buildings 615 and 619 are shown on the following pages, along with an isometric drawing of each building.
VERA CRUZ VILLAGE
CASE STUDY NO. 3
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