A model for sustainable, affordable housing across the country, St. Peter's Housing will likely serve as the first commercial building in the state of Louisiana to achieve net-zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created onsite. Utilizing a combination of passive and active strategies the energy demanded to maintain the health and comfort of occupants is minimal. In tandem with these interventions, a donation from Entergy provided 450 solar panels and a battery array capable of producing and storing the same amount of power required to operate the building year-round. As part of her work this year exploring embodied carbon in architecture, Research Fellow Kelsey Wotila took a closer look at the numbers behind St. Peter’s and how simple strategies working in tandem (even at low cost) can produce transformative results.
