NorthernSTAR 1.5-Story Demonstration House of Cold Climate Solutions for Affordable Housing

This is a NorthernSTAR renovation project for Urban Homeworks incorporating installation of a combination space and water heater, Overcoat insulation retrofit on the roof, and Excavationless foundation insulation retrofit.

STRUCTURE - 1401 North 16th Ave Minneapolis, MN 55411

Various groups from the affordable housing industry have consulted with the University of Minnesota's Cold Climate Housing Program to solve persistent energy and health-related problems such as ice dams, high energy bills, and mold/moisture issues-especially in complicated house types such as 1.5-story homes in cold climates. The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership has completed multiple research projects on high-performance measures applied during renovation of single-family homes that could help the affordable housing industry address performance concerns.

This demonstration project is an example of three high-performance measures applied to one house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The selected vacant home was completely renovated by Urban Homeworks (UHW), which is a nonprofit housing partner, with the intent of selling the home to a low-income family. The renovation included the addition of the three advanced-performance technologies that were applied to the overall scope of the project.

Single-family homes in urban areas that are available for renovation by nonprofit developers are often in need of repair. Budgeting has historically focused on improving homes to meet basic housing standards. A rising interest in the long-term impact of homeownership has introduced the need to balance basic needs with home performance. The goal of this demonstration project was to help UHW and other nonprofit developers become familiar with three U.S. Department of Energy Building America performance measures-including the installation processes, impacts, and benefits of each. To maximize efficiency of application and to address budget issues, the NorthernSTAR team worked with UHW to identify ways to use volunteers and construction training programs to install the measures. An open invitation to visit the job site was provided to other nonprofit developers and support teams to encourage dialog about the systems during live installation.