Passive House Incentives

Take Energy Efficiency to a New Level

The Sponsors of Mass Save® offer incentives and assistance to support the construction of Passive House multi-family buildings (five units or more) with deep energy savings. Certification and performance incentives are available to assist builders and developers in achieving Passive House certification or similar levels of efficiency. Since the launch in August 2019, over 70 Passive House Feasibility studies have been completed, and 119 buildings, with over 6,700 units, are on track for Passive House certification by 2026.

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. The Sponsors of Mass Save® provide technical support in the form of feasibility studies and energy modeling as well as financial incentives to cover the incremental cost of building to, or exceeding, 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.

What is Passive House?

Passive House refers to the ultimate goal in high efficiency design: buildings that minimize energy consumption and have added indoor air quality, comfort, and durability features. Passive House design focuses on robust insulation and air tightness, high-performing glazing, and simplified mechanical systems, to achieve significantly lower energy use, while creating a comfortable and durable space for inhabitants. The Passive House Institute (PHI) and Phius established two independent standards and provide certifications for such buildings: Phius + Passive Building standard and the International Passive House Standard.

How we calculate incentives

The Sponsors offer incentives for high performance or building envelope designs and optimized mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. We will follow the incentive structure detailed below and offer incentives for pre- and post-construction activities once all requirements are met. If you qualify for the Passive House incentive offering, it will replace the standard incentives. If you do not qualify for Passive House incentives, you may be eligible for our standard Residential High Rise New Construction incentives.

Incentive Timing	Activity	Incentive Amount	Max. Incentive
Passive House Incentive Structure for Multi-Family (5 units or more)
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	$500/unit	N/A
Post-Construction	Certification	$2,500/unit
	Net Performance Bonus	$0.75/kWh
	Net Performance Bonus	$7.50/therm
The Net Performance Bonus is calculated by determining the final pay for savings incentives and subtracting the pre- and final certification incentives. The result is the Net Performance Bonus. Projects that pre-certify but do not achieve certification are eligible for the pre-certification incentive and Net Performance Bonus. Projects over 100 units must be pre-approved by the applicable Sponsors of Mass Save.

See how the Sponsors of Mass Save help you save

Fact Sheet: Passive House Incentives

How it works

1
Register your new construction building information here and email it to [email protected]. Within a few days, our dedicated account manager will contact you to proceed. If you have questions, please call us at 1-866-527-SAVE (7283) or email [email protected].
2
Review full Terms & Conditions.

Are you eligible?

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 it is not pre-certified, you may be eligible to receive the standard Residential Standard New Construction incentives.

Passive House Training

The Sponsors of Mass Save partnered with Passive House Massachusetts to launch Passive House training to support workforce development and help transform the energy efficiency and building construction industries.