Living life, net-zero style
Developments that produce energy to meet consumption demand are appearing on the Capital Region landscape
When searching for a new apartment, there are a few buzzwords embedded in the listings that can make a potential place worth scheduling a viewing.
Beyond hitting the required number of bedrooms and baths or being in a desirable location, the words “utilities included” are attractive to apartment dwellers because they translate in to cost savings, convenience and added value. But while the tenant benefits are obvious when writing out a single check for living expenses each month, it’s not immediately clear why — or how — a landlord is able to offer residences free of utility bill expenses without having to pick up the costs themselves.
Unless they create the energy they plan to use throughout the building, and then there aren’t any expenses to cover at all.
“When we talk about net-zero living, we’re talking about a place that produces as much or more energy than it consumes,” said David Bruns, owner of Bruns Realty Group and developer of New York state’s first net-zero apartment complex, netzero Village in Schenectady. “Since we get all of our energy from the sun essentially for free, we can include utilities in the rental price. It’s hugely attractive to people.”
Bruns said net-zero development in single-family houses has been around for longer, but when he began his initial plans for netzero Village in 2012, the concept hadn’t yet been executed in a multifamily property.
The 156-unit complex, which opened in September 2016, produces all of its energy on-site by implementing a combination of highly efficient building features with renewable sources for energy generation. During the planning process, Bruns and his team ran dozens of models to measure the building’s potential energy use, and implemented a “good, better, best” style scale to see which materials were worth shelling out for.
“I’ve always been fascinated with
energy, and I found it an interesting challenge to make net-zero design work in a multifamily space where the development is so cost-competitive,” Bruns said . “A lot of energy consultants told me we needed triple pane windows to make the project work, for example, and it turns out we would’ve been wasting money if we went that route.”
Rather than invest in the fanciest of windows, Bruns learned that changing the orientation of the building would have a more beneficial and cost-conscious result. Solar panels and large windows face south to absorb the most sunlight, and from there, the sunlight converts into a supplemental heating source for the property during the winter.
For the residents, the natural light that streams through their apartments gives them a sense of luxury living at an affordable price, where a one-bedroom unit rental goes for $1,255 per month, and two bedrooms start at $1,325.
Bruns said some people are drawn to his properties for the energy-efficient mission, while others simply find it to be a nice place to live.
“Our rent comes with water, electricity, heating, air conditioning and Wi-fi,” said Julianna Ferrari, who moved into netzero Village with her dog, Xena, in November 2020. “This all-inclusive feature and stability, plus the fact there was a dog park on the property, made my decision to move here so much easier.”
While net-zero design can be a longer and more costly process for the developer, tenants shouldn’t need to compromise on certain amenities or features to make the project an energy-efficient success.
“We couldn’t have our residents sacrifice standard amenities to move here,” Bruns said. Apartment tenants enjoy full-size appliances, including in-unit washers, dryers and dishwashers. Bruns’ model indicated the savings he would have realized from installing smaller appliances would not have been worth potentially turning away residents.
While tenants at Bruns’ properties are not capped to a certain amount of energy usage per month, they are respectfully asked to not be wasteful or consume energy beyond what is appropriate for a typical residential apartment. So far, the majority of the tenants have understood. And with more interest in “being part of the solution,” as Bruns calls it, there are new features that will soon be installed to help residents truly be part of lowering their carbon footprint.
Starting next month at Solara, Bruns’ second ecoluxury, net-zero property in Rotterdam, residents will be able to measure energy usage with a few taps on the digital thermostat in their units, and then compare average weekly or monthly consumption with their fellow neighbors.
“I hope this encourages our residents to be more conscious of their energy consumption,” he said.
Aside from educating his residents, another one of Bruns’ goals is to inspire other developers to make the same commitment to this new model of multifamily development.
“We’re trying to create a new industry and make (net-zero living) 0more common,” Bruns said. “I want to show that this isn’t a scary or complicated process, there are just a few key things you need to do to be successful.”
At Solara, where the first two phases of the project are complete and fully leased, a third phase is estimated to open in August 2022, after the unexpected spike in material costs during the coronavirus pandemic caused the project to temporarily halt.
Solara incorporates Bruns’ newest challenge in the energy-efficient development space, which is to focus on low carbon emission, an approach he said is more holistic than the concept of netzero. This is also where he sees the industry trending today, as reducing the carbon footprint becomes increasingly important.
Other net-zero multifamily properties in motion include Rosenblum Development’s Building 150 project at Great Oaks office park in Guilderland. Rosenblum’s mixed-use multifamily development projects in downtown Troy incorporate high-efficiency systems and geothermal technology already. Like Bruns Realty Group’s projects, Rosenblum properties have also been recognized by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Awards.
“The incentive programs (to build energy-efficient properties) change from year to year,” Bruns said. “Solar panels are much less expensive now than they were five years ago, and as that happens and technology improves, the incentives get reduced.”
Bruns isn’t concerned with needing an incentive to build quality residences and energy-efficient buildings, though. In fact, he says, that’s just the point.
“We were on the frontier of building net-zero for multifamilies in the Capital Region nearly a decade ago, and I wanted to do something other developers could look at and follow,” Bruns said.
“And now more and more people are doing it, which is great. I’m happy to talk about it and spread the word even further. That’s the entire reason I wanted to do this.”