Habitat for Humanity of North Central CT Receives
2022 Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Award
HARTFORD, Sept. 22, 2022 – Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut (HFHNCC) has been selected as a winner in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2022 Housing Innovation Award Competition for the Affordable Homes category. The award was given in recognition of the organization’s certified Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) located on Forbes Street in East Hartford.
This is the second time the organization has been a Housing Innovation Award recipient. In 2020, HFHNCC was the Grand Prize winner of the Affordable Housing – Single-Family Detached category for its Roosevelt Street Home in Hartford – the organizations’ first Zero Energy Ready home.
“Two years ago, we had a goal to build a home that would make homeownership more sustainable and affordable for our clients,” said Karraine Moody, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut. “We achieved that goal, and since then, we have upheld a commitment to build all of our new homes to meet or exceed Zero Energy Ready requirements. This award validates that commitment and fuels our dedication to provide sustainable construction to everyone.”
“As a nonprofit building affordable Zero Energy Ready homes with only volunteers, it is a great honor to win this award and be recognized for our efforts alongside the nation’s best high performance for-profit home builders,” said Kris McKelvie, Director of Construction for Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut. “It’s just incredible that we can compete at this level!”
Completed in March 2022, the Forbes Street house is a 1,600 sq. ft., two-story home with four bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. It features airtight construction, triple-pane windows, a ductless mini-split heat pump, ENERGY STAR® certified appliances, and a heat pump water heater. The home also meets Indoor airPLUS and FORTIFIED Roof requirements, is EPA WaterSense and ENERGY STAR 3.1 certified and solar ready.
With a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index of 34, the home is approximately 60 to 70 percent more energy efficient than a typical new home, saving the homeowners nearly $600 in annual energy costs.
