Weinberg Commons: Building Energy Savings into Affordable Housing

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Commons is a multi-family retrofit development in Washington, D.C., designed as the first Passive House of its kind in the U.S. to provide affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless families while drastically reducing energy costs.

• The Weinberg Commons project is the first Passive House Multi-family retrofit in the United States, employing design elements intended to lower energy consumption for heating and cooling by as much as 90%. The buildings rely primarily on internal gains from equipment and people as well as passive solar gain, with an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) ensuring a balanced supply of fresh air.
• Energy sustainability is critical for low-income families because energy costs rose 22.7% nationwide between 2000 and 2010, which was more than triple the rate of rent increases. For the lowest income renters, utility costs rose from 12.7% to 17.4% of total housing costs during that decade.
• The project consists of 36 two-bedroom units, including 12 Permanent Supportive Housing units. While 24 units serve families at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) with a monthly cost of $1,228, they are offered at rents of $950 per month (affordable for families at 40% AMI), with all utilities included. Construction cost approximately 8% more than traditional methods, but was supported by 9% tax credits, a capital grant from DC’s Department of Behavioral Health, and project-based rental vouchers from the DC Housing Authority.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2016). Weinberg Commons: Building Energy Savings into Affordable Housing. https://www.eesi.org/files/Philip_Hecht_03216.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Weinberg Commons: Building Energy Savings into Affordable Housing. 2016. https://www.eesi.org/files/Philip_Hecht_03216.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Weinberg Commons: Building Energy Savings into Affordable Housing |date=21 March 2016 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Philip_Hecht_03216.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2016weinberg, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Weinberg Commons: Building Energy Savings into Affordable Housing}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2016}, month = mar, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Philip_Hecht_03216.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }