Passive House Incentives

Take Energy Efficiency to a New Level
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The Sponsors of Mass Save® offer incentives and technical assistance to support the construction of Passive House certified multi-family buildings (with 5 units or more). Pre-construction and certification incentives are available to assist builders and developers in achieving Passive House certification through either Phius or the Passive House Institute (PHI).

Passive House building techniques address energy usage and resiliency, resulting in significant and long-lasting primary energy savings compared to homes built to conventional building codes. Technical support includes supporting energy charrettes, feasibility studies, and energy modeling, as well as financial incentives to defray the incremental cost of building to Passive House standards. We structured our offerings to reduce the risk a developer may perceive in pursuing Passive House standards by providing incentive payments aligned with the feasibility, design, and construction phases.

In alignment with the Commonwealth’s climate policy and goals, the Sponsors of Mass Save are discontinuing incentives for buildings that utilize equipment powered by natural gas, oil, and propane. Projects that include natural gas, oil, or propane equipment must be submitted for incentive processing by September 30, 2024, to receive incentives, with the exception of domestic hot water. As of July 1, 2024, new project registrations must meet the program’s new electrification requirements to qualify for incentives. See program Terms & Conditions or contact [email protected] for more information.

 

Passive House Incentive Structure for Multi-Family (5 units or more)
Incentive Timing Activity Incentive Amount Max. Incentive
Pre-Construction   Feasibility Study Up to 100% Feasibility costs $5,000 
 Energy Modeling 75% of Energy Modeling costs   $500/unit, max. $20,000
 Pre-Certification  $750/unit  
N/A
Post-Construction

Certification

 $3,000/unit

 

 

  1. Confirm Eligibility
    View the Eligibility Tab to confirm the eligibility requirements.
  2. Register your Project     

    Register your new construction multi-family project with this registration form and email it to [email protected]. Within a few days, an account manager dedicated to your project will contact you to proceed. If you have questions, please email us at [email protected].

     

  • Residential multi-family and mixed-use new construction, with 5 or more units, are eligible. They must:
    • Be located within a Sponsor’s service territory in Massachusetts.
    • Utilize all electric for space conditioning, cooking, and clothes drying. Domestic hot water equipment is allowed to utilize fossil fuels.
    • Customers are not eligible for individual equipment rebates through the Mass Save Heating & Cooling programs.
    • See Program Terms & Conditions for full details.
  • Our incentives are available for buildings enrolled during the early stages of design, prior to reaching 100% schematic design. To be eligible for incentives, participants must pursue Passive House certification of their multi-family building with 5 or more units and agree to monitor and provide data on whole-building gas and electric consumption as well as on-site generation production. Participants must hire a Passive House consultant certified through either PHI or Phius to conduct a feasibility study and to serve as a consultant throughout the design and certification process. To receive post-construction incentives, your building must first be pre-certified.
  • If you are interested in whole-building infiltration testing for your project, please visit our list of approved firms to get started.

    The Sponsors of Mass Save have partnered with Passive House Massachusetts to launch Passive House & All-Electric Homes training to support workforce development and market transformation in the residential building construction industry in Massachusetts.