REEEP

Low-energy housing for low incomes

Cancun, 28.01.2011 - REEEP International Secretariat

Urbi is the leading housing developer in Mexico, and focuses specifically on low- and middle-income housing developments. During 2010, the company completed 40,000 housing units in 15 different cities. REEEP recently caught up with Ing. Fernando Mayagoitia, Leader of the Innovating Project and Sustainable Development of Urbi, who oversaw a net zero energy apartment house development in Cancun. We asked him about the company, this particular project, and how it’s possible to make money in energy efficient real estate developments that don’t target rich consumers.

The Urbi Villa Del Rey is a low-energy multi-family building in Cancun that requires no air conditioning. It was developed specifically for low-income consumers.

Green building is often seen as a luxury for the rich. How does Urbi approach this question?
Historically, Urbi has always been focused on low-income housing and we’re experts in this sector. Some 80% of our customers earn less than $450 per month. Our success and our large scale mean that we can afford to look at developing technologies and new approaches to housing for people with modest means. And over the past 5-6 years, the Mexican government has also been trying to encourage product offerings at this end of the housing market.

But how can you realistically provide low-energy, low-income housing?
Well, the key is that the technology - which exists already – needs to be adapted to fit Mexican needs, particularly our extreme heat conditions. For example, we are working with BASF on energy-efficient building materials like polystyrene insulation combined with graphite to double the R-value in the building envelope, keeping the heat out. If produced in high volume, this could be a game-changer.  So partnership with building supply developers is one major way.

Another way is with LED lighting and low-energy appliances. Whirlpool is providing very low energy refrigerators, and in March 2011 will be testing very low energy washers with us.

And finally, we try to use demonstration projects that combine many technologies and document the reduced lifecycle energy costs in order to drive changes in Mexican national subsidy policies. This can enable net-zero energy projects to happen on a wide scale.

What changes in policy are you trying to achieve?
Basically, we are just trying to be creative with what exists already.
For example, the Mexican government provides low-interest loans for air-conditioners for people with low incomes. But the Urbi Villa del Rey project in Cancun shows that it’s possible to build a multi-family building that requires no air conditioning at all, even in our climate. So we’re asking for that a/c money to be diverted into a subsidy to finance the purchase of high-tech, low energy building materials and technologies like solar PV.  The government agrees, and this complex is being used to certify the savings and to develop an “energy-saver seal” that will qualify for the technology subsidy – a so-called “green mortgage” instead. 

Most Mexican houses are single family ones, but your Urbi Villa del Rey project is a multi-story, multi-family apartment block.  Why?
This is a pilot project in both technology and policy. 
In Mexico 700,000 units of housing are built every year, and today, most of those are single family homes. In the longer term this isn’t sustainable, so the government is pushing for new developments to be in low rise 3-4 story buildings.  The higher density helps reduce infrastructure costs and increase efficiency.  By 2012, 100% of government housing subsidies will be targeting multi-level units, up from 40% in 2010.

The construction is over. Does this mean your role ends?
No. In some ways it is just beginning, because the Urbi Villa del Rey is also meant to be a pilot project for measuring lifecyle energy use. Now in January we have the first owners moving in. The project has attracted huge interest amongst potential buyers, so we have selected a variety of households as buyers; families with one parent working, ones where both work, and single mother households. We’ll be monitoring them for one year to understand the energy consumption patterns.

What does a typical apartment actually cost?
At the very low end, a typical Urbi housing unit will cost about $18,000. In this project, we are trying to prove that for the same price, we can incorporate PV and other things like nanotechnology by making creative use of the a/c subsidy and the green mortgage programme.

Nanotechnology? In an apartment building? 
Yes – it’s actually a nanotechnology contained in the stucco of the outside walls. At the outermost layer, the external walls have a hard, clear plastic surfacing. Then right behind that surface, the stucco is a sort of wax mixed with microscopic plastic granules. When the temperature hits between 27 and 32 degrees Celsius, this mixture inside the wall cavity actually melts into a syrup-like liquid. So the exterior walls can absorb much more heat without allowing any of it into the building. The stucco will harden up again as the temperature falls. This actually eliminates the need for air conditioning.

Does it all pay off?
It can. If you take all of the innovations: the nanotechnology, the insulation, the low-energy appliances, it means that typical energy consumption for a unit in this complex is 25,000 kWh, in contrast to 59,000 kWh in a typical Mexican household.  This level of efficiency cuts the pay-off period for PV in half.

For other countries trying to develop energy efficient housing for people with low incomes, what advice could you give them?
In design, consider every possible technology and then select (and adapt) the ones that fit your climate and energy usage patterns. Moneywise, look at the full package of construction and lifecycle costs, and try to justify the increased costs up front with the lower energy consumption over time. See what subsidies already exist for housing and how these might be adapted.  That’s how it has worked for us.

Background information:
Urbi is present in 35 cities, covering the main metropolitan areas and the most dynamic medium-size cities in Mexico. In over 29 years of operations, Urbi has developed over 340,000 homes, and has always conducted its business with a strong emphasis on financial performance, making it one of the most profitable companies in the sector.

The Urbi Villa Del Ray was one of several demonstration net zero energy buildings in the Cancun area to be highlighted during COP16.  These were made possible by the generous support of Environment Canada, which cooperated with Mexican stakeholders and REEEP to highlight this vital issue.