Enterprise Green Communities is the first national green building certification program dedicated to multifamily buildings. Since the programs inception in 2004, the program supported over 550 housing organizations across the country, created and rehabilitated 38,000 green and healthy dwellings for low-income people, has invested over $2 billion in green developments, and has set in policies that transformed the regulatory landscape on local, state, and national levels. For instance, in some states, such as New York and New Jersey, affordable housing developers gain merit points by participating in a green building certification program, such as Enterprise Green Communities, in order to qualify for federal tax credits under the LIHTC regulation. Enterprise Green Communities, which is a comprehensive green building certification program that goes beyond energy efficiency, is one of the most popular programs, especially since there is no cost for participation in the program.

Karpman Consulting, through its proven record of energy modeling and design assistance and its partnerships with leading design and consulting teams, is uniquely positioned to lead projects through the certification process for projects considering getting certified. Below are some examples of projects that went through the program.

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The Frederick

The Frederick is a multifamily high-rise project located in New York, NY. It has a total of 75 apartment units ranging from studios to 3-bedroom apartments. Common areas include a multi-purpose community room, a computer classroom, a study room, and other services areas. An energy analysis was performed on the final drawing set of The Frederick project in order to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Enterprise Green Communities compliance with Criteria 5.1b Building Performance Standard, which requires a 15% performance improvement over a minimally code compliant building following ASHRAE 90.1 2013.

Main Energy Measures: improved exterior walls insulation R-30; improved roof insulation R-36; improved glazing U-0.43; EnergyStar appliances; LED lighting and automatic lighting controls; high efficiency condensing boilers; high efficiency gas DHW heaters; premium pumps + VFDs; improved ventilation and exhaust fans; and high efficiency PTACs.

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Community Access

Community Access is a 160,550 square foot multifamily high-rise project located in New York, NY. It is 10 story high and has a total of 215 apartment units ranging from studios to 2-bedroom apartments. Common areas include multiple multi-purpose community rooms, a computer classroom, a study room, a catering kitchen, main lobbies on the ground floor and cellar, double height lobbies on every other floor, a fitness room, multiple resident storage spaces, a community career center, and other services areas. An energy analysis was performed on the final drawing set of The Frederick project in order to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Enterprise Green Communities compliance with Criteria 5.1b Building Performance Standard, which requires a 15% performance improvement over a minimally code compliant building following ASHRAE 90.1 2013. The project achieved a performance rating of 16.5% after the design team implemented some recommendations for optimized energy performance.

Main Energy Measures: improved exterior walls insulation R-23; improved roof insulation R-45; improved glazing U-0.30; EnergyStar appliances; LED lighting and automatic lighting controls; high efficiency condensing boilers; high efficiency gas DHW heaters; premium pumps + VFDs; improved ventilation and exhaust fans; high efficiency VRF units in common areas; high efficiency PTACs in apartments.