Your Home Electrification Checklist: 5 Upgrades For a Sustainable Home
For an individual trying to make a big climate impact starting at home, electrification is the name of the game. ⚽️
Home electrification is no small feat. It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money. But, it’s definitely worth it: any progress made toward a fossil-fuel-free home is progress made toward a brighter, healthier, and happier future for everyone.
It won’t happen all at once, but here are 5 of the most impactful steps you can take on your home electrification journey. 🗺️
✅ Go Solar
This one’s pretty self explanatory.
Investing in renewable energy is a crucial part of our collective climate response, and by joining community solar or getting rooftop solar (or another form of solar), you can be a part of that work.
There are lots of other benefits to getting rooftop solar that have nothing to do with reducing your carbon footprint. You can drastically reduce (and maybe even eliminate) your monthly electricity bill, you can sell excess solar energy back to your utility company, you can keep the lights on during power outages… there are lots of upsides. 💪
✅ Get A Heat Pump
Heat pumps are the hottest new thing in HVAC. They are all-electric, energy efficient heating and cooling machines that can keep your house feeling ✨just right✨ all year round.
No more having to rely on your ancient fossil-fuel-powered furnace or boiler that releases toxic fumes into your home to stay warm during the winter! No more having to rely on your equally ancient and inefficient air conditioner during the summer! A heat pump can do it all, and it can do it better.
✅ Invest in an Induction Stove
Remember when we figured out that gas stoves are actually… pretty darn bad for us? Welp, that’s still true. The alternatives are an electric stove, or an induction stove. Induction stoves are slightly more efficient than electric stoves, but not by a lot. The real draw of induction stoves over electric stoves is their functionality. 💃
There’s a reason induction stoves are used in professional kitchens all over the world: they offer a precise, fast, safe, clean, and easy method of cooking that can’t be beat. So, if you’re ready to level up your cooking skills on your way to electrifying your home, induction is the way to go.
✅ Drive An EV
Okay, this one isn’t technically home electrification. But why stop after cutting fossil fuels out of every other part of your life? Plus, getting a personal EV charger definitely falls under the umbrella of home electrification. So there. 😤
Ground transportation is a huge emitter of greenhouse gases. Not to mention, gas is expensive… Electrifying your ride can reduce your contributions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by a significant amount, and provide you with long term savings. Win-win.
✅ Upgrade Your Electrical Panel
This is definitely a home electrification project that flies under the radar, but it can be crucial. Not all homes receive enough electricity from the grid to power a bunch of new susty appliances; if that’s the case for you, a panel upgrade is a must. ✅
Even if you do conclude you have enough electricity to power your new electrified life, you might decide to upgrade to a Smart Panel, which can give you an unprecedented amount of insight into and control over your energy usage. This can be a game changer as you tackle your overall efficiency.
Yes, these 5 home electrification projects, while they are probably the most impactful, are also the most expensive. 💸 💸 💸 Luckily, they also all qualify for federal tax breaks and state rebates.
Happy Electrifying! ⚡️💕
