The Philadelphia Energy Authority is completing a 50-home pilot of the Built to Last program. The program is the first of its kind to perform whole-home improvements on low-income properties, starting from stabilizing the home with basic systems repairs and ending with electrification and solar.
The program uses a novel approach to completing holistic home retrofits for low-income households, which include basic system repairs, repairs aimed to improve occupant health, energy efficiency, electrification, and rooftop solar PV installations. Built to Last provides a powerful backbone that layers, coordinates, and supplements existing home repair programs that achieve energy efficiency and weatherization, health and safety improvements to address home-related occupant health, climate resilience, and the preservation and stabilization of existing affordable housing.
PEA will discuss the lessons learned to date through its Built to Last pilot, including the challenges involved in coordinating disparate services and deploying electrification measures. PEA will also share the actual energy impacts of the pilot based on a post-construction assessment.
