Drew Slater is Executive Director of Energize Delaware. Kim Stevenson is CEO of New Ecology, Inc., which administers Energize Delaware’s Climate Smart Homes and Affordable Multifamily Housing programs.
By Drew Slater and Kim Stevenson
Across Delaware and across the country housing affordability is at the top of the public agenda. Families are struggling not only with the cost of buying or renting a home, but with what it takes to stay housed month after month as energy costs rise and extreme weather becomes more common.
Too often, affordability is treated as a question of upfront price alone. But for many low- and moderate-income households, the real pressure comes later: unpredictable utility bills, homes that overheat in the summer or lose heat in the winter, and indoor conditions that can aggravate health issues. In this reality, climate resilience is not a luxury add-on. It is a core affordability strategy.
When a home is designed to use far less energy, maintain safe and comfortable indoor temperatures during heat waves and cold snaps, and protect indoor air quality, families benefit in immediate and lasting ways. Monthly energy costs drop. Health risks decline. And housing stability improves. That is affordability in practice.
Delaware has an opportunity to lead by recognizing this connection and acting on it. Through Energize Delaware, the state is already supporting this work by helping developers and homeowners invest in high-performance, climate-ready housing. Programs like Climate Smart Homes, which supports high-performance single-family housing, and the Affordable Multifamily Housing Program, which helps owners preserve and improve existing apartment buildings, are designed to reduce energy use while improving comfort, health, and long-term operating costs.
These programs matter because rising energy costs and climate impacts hit some households harder than others. When homes are inefficient, utility bills spike during extreme weather, forcing families to make impossible tradeoffs between housing, food, and health care. By contrast, resilient, energy-efficient homes help stabilize monthly costs and protect residents during periods of heat, cold, and poor air quality.
We see this clearly in new and existing affordable housing developments across the state. When energy performance and resilience are built into housing from the start – or thoughtfully integrated into existing buildings – affordability lasts beyond the closing table or lease signing. Lower operating costs mean families are less likely to be priced out of their homes over time. Comfort and health become built-in features, not privileges.
This approach also strengthens communities and the state as a whole. Homes that perform well under climate stress reduce strain on energy systems during peak demand, lower long-term public health costs, and protect housing investments from premature deterioration. In other words, resilience pays dividends—not just for residents, but for Delaware’s economy and infrastructure.
Importantly, this is not about reinventing housing policy from scratch. It is about using the tools Delaware already has more intentionally. When housing developers, building owners, and public programs are aligned around performance, resilience, and affordability, high-quality outcomes become achievable—even in smaller markets and within tight budgets.
As Delaware continues to grapple with housing affordability, we should broaden how we define it. The question is no longer whether we can afford to invest in resilient housing. It is whether we can afford not to.
