About
The Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP), which ran from 2021 through 2024, provides resources to help multifamily building owners/managers and residents reduce energy and water costs and improve indoor air and water quality while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in communities on the frontlines of climate change in the Eastern San Fernando Valley (e.g., Pacoima, Panorama City, Van Nuys, and North Hollywood).
Green Homes California is USGBC-CA’s umbrella portfolio of programs and resources that includes the Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP).
Case Studies and Resources
Greening Affordable Housing Toolkit
Check out our toolkit of resources developed under the Green Affordable Housing Program to engage multifamily building owners, managers, and residents around efficiency, electrification, occupant health, and community resilience.
Multifamily Engagement and Pipeline Development
Under a Community Emissions Reduction Grant from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), USGBC-CA targeted multifamily buildings with an average of twenty (20) or more units in the Eastern San Fernando Valley from 2021 through 2024, provided project funding for EV charging, energy efficiency pilots, resident engagement, and other resources.
This case study demonstrates a holistic approach to engaging with multifamily buildings that can be further leveraged to increase access to energy savings resources in disadvantaged communities, both for building owners and residents.
USGBC-CA’s resident engagement sessions not only raised awareness about climate change and sustainability but also empowered residents to take actionable steps to lower their bills and reflect on their emissions to reduce their environmental impact. Making resources more accessible helped bridge a gap between residents and the programs designed to support them.
USGBC-CA launched its Green Homes California initiative to scale a holistic approach, first piloted through the Green Affordable Housing Program, partnering with property owners and managers, contractors, service providers, and residents to bring resources for efficiency and electrification into communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Electrifying the Green Affordable Housing Program
Under a Quick Start Grant from TECH Clean California, USGBC-CA replaced gas space and water heating systems with heat pumps in multifamily properties enrolled in the Green Affordable Housing Program in disadvantaged communities in the Eastern San Fernando Valley.
USGBC-CA assessed the feasibility of retrofitting both gas-powered HVAC and water heating systems to heat pump models at a condominium complex, ultimately installing three (3) heat pump water heaters (HPWHs).
USGBC-CA replaced inefficient and aging gas wall furnaces for heating and through-the-wall PTAC units for cooling with heat pump units that could fit into the existing PTAC openings in a former motel converted to multifamily apartments.
USGBC-CA identified the opportunity to replace inefficient and aging rooftop AC cooling units with internal gas furnaces for heating (AKA, “Gas Pack RTUs”) with heat pump models that could fit onto the existing rooftop ductwork of a multifamily property.
Program Process
Fill out our Interest Form
The Green Affordable Housing Program in the Eastern San Fernando Valley is now closed, but Green Homes California is still accepting applications for other program opportunities through our interest form!
Green Homes California Implementation Partners
Green Home California Supporters
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Learn more about this program!
Green Homes California was developed by USGBC California and is supported in part through funding from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Community Emission Reduction Grants Program, TECH Clean California Quick Start Grants, and a California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Environmental Justice Small Grant.
Green Homes California is USGBC California’s portfolio of programs and resources that includes the Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP).
