Multifamily Buildings Are Retrofitted to Achieve Low to No Utility Bills for Low-income Families
Retrofit Magazine has featured the ERA supported Weinberg Commons low income housing development in Washington, D.C. The development was one of the first low income development projects in the United States to be built to passive house standards. According to Retrofit:
“Weinberg Commons received a gift of dark EPDM from a founding member of the Washington-based EPDM Roofing Association, or ERA. The 60-mil membrane was installed on all three buildings. Fine says in heating-dominated climates, dark membranes can be the best choice. “Just because it’s reflective, doesn’t mean that it’s best in terms of energy consumption,” he notes. “We have the benefit of the roof absorbing more diffuse radiation and warming up more than a white roof would in the winter and also being shaded from the direct radiation in the summer time,” Hindle adds.