Overview
The Sustainability Unit at HCR is supporting small buildings and single-family homes to reduce energy burden, lower on-site carbon emissions, and provide best practices for high performance building design by providing access to resources and program funding opportunities specific to this building typology. This is in alignment with New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA).
Small Buildings defined in this instance as properties with any of the following characteristics, below four (4) stories, and/or town house properties where less than 4 residences share a common doorway, and/or where there are less than 16 units in a multifamily property. There may be some exceptions within each program funding source, so we recommend reviewing each program opportunity for specifics.
Single-family properties are defined as residences with less than 4 units. There may be some exceptions within each program funding source, so we recommend reviewing each program opportunity for specifics.
Programs for Small Buildings
The Weatherization Assistance Program
This program provides up to $8,006 per unit or home for energy efficiency upgrades to help reduce energy costs. This program is federally funded by The Department of Energy and Health and Human Services. The program is administered by a network of Community Action Agencies and qualified Non-Profits referred to as Subgrantees. Interested applicants should view more details and look up their local provider by visiting, https://hcr.ny.gov/weatherization-applicants
Green Small Buildings Programs (GSBP)
This program is funded by NYS and makes up to $150m available to provide additional funding sources for properties that are participating in existing opportunities, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program, Affordable Home Ownership Program, and other grant opportunities, where there is additional funding through the GSBP for the installation of high-efficiency all-electric heat pumps. Please visit those program pages for specific opportunities.
Check back for more opportunities and updates
Resources for Small Buildings
Small Buildings Assessment Tools
There are two resources for assessing an existing Small Building.
The Electrification Screen, which provides an eligibility screen to determine if the home or small building is a good candidate for electrification of space heating or domestic hot water system upgrades. This tool is just meant as pre-screen guidance and does not in any way confirm eligibility, guarantee funds, or replace the need for an Engineer or additional analysis.
The Small Buildings Integrated Physical Needs Analysis Tool, provides a resource to evaluate a small building’s physical needs in advance of a request for financing, or to assist a property owner in understanding the properties long-term capital needs over time.
Small Buildings Sustainability Guidelines
The following resources, known as a Small Buildings Playbook, are a set of technical guidelines and standards for New Construction and Existing buildings to build and renovate high performance efficient buildings.
New materials and documents will be posted shortly; please revisit this section for the most current information.