Zero Net Energy Affordable Housing with Sean Armstrong

The world is beginning to go through an electric revolution, and real estate is at the epicenter. Sean Armstrong, principal at Redwood Energy, happens to be one of the revolutionaries of this movement and has designed over 10,000 residences in more than 200 developments that are 100% all electric, Zero Net Energy with many of those being low-income affordable housing.

Sean is a rare combination of advocate and activist with sustainability, justice, and doing the right thing at his core. His passion for sustainability started when he had a life-changing experience at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, where he lived in the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT), a student-run demonstration house that was off-grid (solar, wind, biodiesel and batteries).

After college Sean left his imprint on organizations he worked for including a large general contracting firm begin to incorporate solar power into their projects. As a designer, Sean found a winning formula by combining all electric solar powered designs with affordable housing developments. This, he says, is because it helps developers become more profitable because electric design is cheaper to build and there are incentives for affordable housing.

For Sean, there is an environmental cost to everything, but scale is important. The cost of solar is far outweighed by the positives that it creates to decarbonize the atmosphere, increase indoor air quality and create healthier living spaces, as well as create much more safe communities without the threat that comes with combustible fuel like natural gas. He has many personal gripping narratives of how his family has been impacted by events such as gas leaks, forest fires, and toxic indoor air quality.

 
At the end of this Regenerative Real Estate Podcast episode, Sean mentions several resources that his firm Redwood Energy has put out for people interested in Zero Net Energy which you can find at their website here.

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This podcast isn’t just about ideas—it’s about action. From these conversations, two organizations have emerged to bring regenerative real estate to life:

Latitude Regenerative Real Estate is the world’s first regenerative-focused real estate brokerage, dedicated to aligning values-driven buyers and sellers. With a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions, Latitude also supports purpose-driven developments across North America through strategic marketing and branding services. If you're looking to buy, sell, or amplify a regenerative project, Latitude is your trusted partner.

Hamlet Capital is an investment and development firm committed to building resilient communities rooted in working farms. If you’re developing an agrihood or conservation community, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can turn visionary ideas into thriving, place-based investments.