REALIZE California (REALIZE-CA) is an innovative approach to decarbonizing aging multifamily affordable housing statewide. By focusing on the rapid deployment of streamlined retrofit packages tailored to the most common building typologies in the state’s multifamily affordable housing stock, REALIZE-CA provides a roadmap for transforming buildings and communities.
REALIZE-CA was funded by awards from the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, which invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector to meet the state’s energy and climate goals. As a coordinated portfolio of awards, REALIZE-CA standardized, tested, developed, and demonstrated retrofit technologies in multifamily buildings statewide, while aggregating retrofit demand and addressing financing barriers.
Technologies for the REALIZE-CA retrofit package were selected based on learnings from pilot demonstrations funded by California Energy Commission awards: EPC-17-040, Mass Deployment of Energy Efficiency Retrofits in Multifamily Homes in California; EPC-19-032, Mechanical Pods; and EPC-19-036, Varieties of Prefabricated Envelope Solutions for California Low-rise Buildings. REALIZE-CA retrofits are customizable and feature all-electric appliances, high performance roof systems and windows, and commercially available envelope upgrades. The program retrofitted over 350 units of multifamily affordable housing units (300,000-plus square feet) in disadvantaged communities throughout California, conducting demonstrations at four apartment complexes in Corona, Richgrove, Fresno, and East Palo Alto, California.
Key results include, but are not limited to:
Reduced emissions, energy consumption and utility bills for tenants/ratepayers.
Overall, portfolio-wide savings, achieving a 21-percent reduction in electricity usage for already electrified end uses and a 43-percent reduction in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) when comparing pre-existing conditions to post-energy-efficiency retrofit conditions. These results include solar for sites with systems already under construction.
Improved building resilience.
Improved indoor air quality and thermal comfort for tenants/ratepayers.
Workforce partnership with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
