Founded in 1975, Community Housing Partners (CHP) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provides housing opportunities and related services to low-income individuals and families across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. Through its mission to create homes and communities that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable, CHP has been a leading advocate of affordable housing development in Virginia for over 45 years. CHP's activities include real estate development, construction, energy services and training, asset management, property management, homeownership, and comprehensive resident services. CHP’s community development work prioritizes and reflects its core values of resilience, impact, stewardship, and equity.

Through our Partnership with CHP, Sol Systems is funding the replacement of all the windows at S.A. Robinson, an affordable housing rental community located in the rural town of Pembroke, Virginia. The windows will be low-emissivity and argon-glazed windows which will nearly double the resistance value and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) from existing levels. The window replacement is a significant piece of a 3-phase renovation scope with other building performance improvements including a new roof, replacement of all HVAC units, and replacement of in-unit appliances, lighting, and water heaters.

S.A. Robinson was constructed in 1938 as a community school and CHP converted the building into apartments in 1985. In 2022, CHP conducted a resident survey to collect valuable feedback. A common theme from the survey was discomfort due to aging and drafty windows and when asked what improvements residents would like to have for their homes, the overwhelming consensus was for window replacements.

In addition to qualitative feedback from residents, CHP is also prioritizing monitoring and benchmarking to measure the impacts of window and door replacements to include an evaluation of energy savings, cost savings, and air quality improvements. An initial focus on the building’s envelope and energy efficiency upgrades will enable CHP to potentially implement a future transition to solar energy at the property. This partnership highlights Sol Systems’Infrastructure + Impact approach which supports critical building health and safety repairs, and energy efficiency upgrades as part of the transition to a clean energy economy.