The Cottages at Cypress

The Cottages at Cypress is a twenty-five-unit, single- story affordable housing project for seniors earning 50% or less of the Area Median Income. These wheelchair- accessible homes are located in the beautiful coastal town of Fort Bragg and have achieved multiple green building certifications, including LEED for Homes - Platinum. The design focuses on encouraging outdoor use and activity by creating an openness to the surrounding area. The Cottages are equipped with solar arrays on their roofs, allowing tenants to utilize Net Energy Metering (NEM). This means that all of the power that they produce is credited to and used by that particular household. The solar models prepared by Redwood Energy predicted the residents’ electrical needs, including the allowance for an electric vehicle to be charged, to be $20.74/month for a 1-bedroom and $26.24/month for a 2-bedroom. After the first year of production, each resident received $160-200 for excess energy produced. Residents proudly show off their electricity bills and remain astonished by how much living in a net-zero development has reduced their cost of living and improved their quality of life. Emphasizing what it means to be warm without having to balance their physical comfort against their finances.