Apartments as a Hidden Climate Solution

A Sightline Institute report calls newly built multifamily housing “an almost automatic form of building decarbonization.” Three-quarters of recent apartments use electric heating, a practice that began in the early 1970s because wiring was cheaper than gas piping. The economic choice now provides a ready pathway for low-carbon housing.

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• 75 % of new apartments are heated electrically.

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• 68 % of apartments built since the 1970s rely on electricity for space heating.

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• Apartment residents emit about one-third the greenhouse gases of a comparable detached-home occupant.

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• Heat-pump adoption in Northwest multifamily units reached 18 % after 2010; heat pumps now outsell gas furnaces nationally.

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All-electric heating lets apartments pair with rooftop solar, induction cooking and networked-geothermal loops that draw stable underground heat. Denser units cut per-capita energy use, shorten trips to stores and transit, and lower vehicle emissions. Mixed-use designs further boost access to health, education and recreation services.

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Montana’s Republican-led bills and Democratic housing pushes both accelerate multifamily construction, but zoning limits curb growth. In most Oregon cities, four-story apartments are allowed on less than 1 % of residential land, even in Portland (14 %). C40’s Cécile Faraud warns that apartments alone won’t cut emissions without commercial, health and educational spaces.

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Sightline Institute frames electric-heated apartments as a low-cost climate lever. Project Drawdown notes developers seek upfront savings that align with electric heating economics. The Building Decarbonization Coalition says electrifying heating and cooking removes the need for on-site gas. C40 stresses mixed-use zoning to maximize health and mobility benefits.

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• “Apartments are the climate solution hiding in plain sight,” — Alan Durning, executive director, Sightline Institute

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• “If I am building something with the intention of renting it, I really want to minimize my upfront costs,” — Amanda D. Smith, senior scientist, Project Drawdown

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• “If you’re building a building and you’re heating and cooling with heat pumps, it doesn’t really make sense to hook it up to the gas system to pipe a tiny bit of gas in for people to cook on their gas stoves a couple of times a week,” — Matt Casale, managing director, Building Decarbonization Coalition

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• “So you can access care, you can access education, you can access your needs in terms of shopping,” — Cécile Faraud, head of clean construction program, C40

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State and local leaders are pushing reforms to broaden multifamily zoning, speed heat-pump retrofits and pilot networked-geothermal districts. Mixed-use pilots in several cities aim to blend residential, commercial and civic space. If zoning barriers fall, electric-heated apartments could expand quickly, cutting emissions while easing housing costs.

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