Phius has made the decision to place a pause on requiring DOE Efficient New Homes Multifamily Version 2 certification as a co-requisite for multifamily projects.
Since the Department of Energy (DOE) Efficient New Homes MF v2 (formerly Zero Energy Ready Homes) was released in January 2025, Phius has had numerous conversations with project team members who are experiencing difficulties meeting its certification criteria. These difficulties are resulting in delays in the planning and modeling of their projects and represent perceived barriers to Phius Certification. As a result, Phius has made the decision to place a pause on requiring DOE ENH certification as a co-requisite for multifamily projects.
Effective immediately, multifamily projects pursuing Phius Certification are not required to earn DOE Efficient New Homes Multifamily Version 2 certification. This applies to all multifamily, dormitory, residence hall, supportive housing, senior housing and residential portions of mixed-use projects per the eligibility criteria outlined in the National Program Requirements document pursuing Phius Certification. Projects with a building permit date that precedes the cut-off date for older versions of the DOE Efficient New Homes program Version 1, Revision 7, 8 or 9 are still required to certify to the applicable program version.
This decision is meant to allow necessary flexibility for teams pursuing Phius Certification while maintaining the critical aspects of the DOE Efficient New Homes program. To accomplish this, Phius will continue to require the majority of checklist items from the DOE Efficient New Homes program, but teams will no longer need to provide proof of certification as part of the Phius Certification process.
Click here for a Phius amended document outlining the DOE Efficient New Homes National Multifamily Program Requirements that will continue to be required for Phius Certification.
Click here for a Phius amended document outlining the DOE Efficient New Homes Multifamily National Rater Checklist that will continue to be required for Phius Certification.
The suspension of the requirement is indefinite with a more permanent resolution tentatively expected to be part of the Phius 2027 standard update. The suspension only applies to multifamily projects meeting the eligibility criteria described in the National Program Requirements document — single-family and townhouse projects are still required to earn the DOE Efficient New Homes certification.
Phius is in the process of working with the DOE on a solution that will allow the Efficient New Homes program to continue serving as a co-requisite program for Phius Certification. The goal of suspending the program requirement is to offer a workable solution for project teams currently pursuing Phius Certification.
We at Phius are committed to upholding the highest level of quality assurance for our certification program, but we recognize the importance of avoiding unnecessary barriers for our project teams. That balance guided our decision to suspend the DOE Efficient New Homes Multifamily Version 2 certification requirement while working to find a solution that makes sense for all parties in the long term.
Please contact us with any questions or concerns.