The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) commitment to help San Francisco’s low‑income communities thrive by building affordable housing was energized by an electrification project at its SOMA Studio and Family Apartments (SOMA Apartments) in 2020. The effort is supported by a $633,000 award from California Climate Investments through the Department of Community Services and Development’s Low Income Weatherization Program’s (LIWP) Multi‑Family component. With that money and contributions from other local energy efficiency programs, TNDC kept utility bills low for residents while electrifying major central building systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Built in 2003, the SOMA Apartments include 162 homes with more than 60 percent of its households classified as extremely low‑income (earning less than 30 percent of the area median income).
Without the award, the SOMA Apartments project scope would have been limited to lighting upgrades. With the assistance of LIWP, TNDC was able to take a whole‑building approach to energy efficiency and integrate various electrification measures as part of the retrofit including installation of a 74‑kilowatt solar photovoltaic system to help offset the electricity load in the apartments’ common areas. The SOMA Apartments and its residents can count on energy savings of more than 40 percent with a projected annual savings of $48,000.
TNDC’s Senior Sustainability Manager Ruchi Shah stated, “When we started this project, LIWP was the only program that funded electrification and fuel‑switching measures. They provided an exhaustive list of measures and, more importantly, their team spent three to four months coming up with preliminary pricing to help identify a contractor, an offering no other energy program has provided. Without LIWP, this work would have been challenging, if not impossible”
Apartment tenants only pay for in‑unit electricity, which is limited to lighting and appliances, while TNDC pays for water and central heating. To further reduce tenant utility bills, LIWP helped cover in‑unit light bulb replacements to provide direct savings to tenants and brighten up common spaces without increasing electricity costs. TNDC also electrified domestic hot water with heat pump water heaters and installed hydronic heating boilers.
TNDC has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent from a 2018 baseline by 2028. Building electrification and decarbonization efforts like those supported by LIWP are key strategies for meeting this goal.