People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and young children are particularly vulnerable.įrom a health perspective, Seals says switching from a gas stove to an electric induction stove is among the best changes one can make in their house. Nitrogen dioxide irritates the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract, and can cause acute or chronic bronchitis through extended exposure. Gas-powered appliances like stoves, furnaces and hot water heaters emit nitrogen dioxide, a greenhouse gas that can be harmful to humans. Know the benefitsīrady Seals, a manager with RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings team, also says the health benefits of all-electric houses help justify the cost of retrofitting. The analysis estimates up-front costs are $2,700 lower for an all-electric house, and annual utility bills are estimated to be 2% lower than a house that uses gas. While retrofitting is often an expensive endeavor, RMI analysis shows building a new, all-electric house in some cities, including Denver, is cheaper than building a new house that runs on natural gas. “If you’re trying to save, it’s cheaper to stick with gas.” “The truth is, right now the math doesn’t work out,” he says. He recognizes the cost of retrofitting is steep and not feasible for many people. But Teplin anticipates they will only save him about $3,000. There are rebates available from EnergySmart, a partnership with local governments including the City of Boulder to provide energy audits and incentives that help offset some of the cost. Teplin says his retrofit will cost about $35,000. “If you wait for your furnace to fail, it’s too late.” Teplin says the urgency of a broken appliance might lead people to stick with gas if they haven’t done their research on electric heat pumps. Once something breaks, people typically focus on finding the cheapest and quickest replacement. “The most important thing to do is to think ahead,” he says. In addition to finding the right contractor, Teplin says anyone looking to electrify their home should start planning early. Teplin says Helio Home and Elephant Energy are two local home-building consulting organizations that offered advice on his electrification project and helped him find quotes from contractors. “Luckily, in Boulder, there are a few HVAC contractors who do.” “There are not many contractors who want to get rid of gas altogether,” Teplin says. Some builders might not be up to speed on the latest all-electric technology, or might incorrectly think natural gas is the only reliable heat source in cold weather. Teplin says the biggest obstacle to electrifying residential buildings is finding a company with knowledge and enthusiasm surrounding green construction. Energy scientist Chaz Teplin and his co-workers pose for a photo in their South Boulder townhouse, which Teplin is retrofitting to run entirely on electricity. To help residents who want to follow his lead, Boulder Reporting Lab spoke with Teplin and his RMI colleague Brady Seals about the costs, challenges and advice for moving away from natural gas in your own home. But while some other municipalities across the country are seeking to begin the process of transitioning away from gas now - through bans on gas hookups in new buildings, for example - those conversations and policy moves have been less overt here. (Xcel Energy’s energy mix in the state is about 30 percent gas.) City building codes require all new residential construction to meet net-zero emissions by 2031. The vast majority of houses in Boulder use natural gas as their main heating source. I feel it’s only right to complement this by electrifying,” he says. “In my day job, I work on cleaning up the grid. But Teplin says the cost is worth getting his home off natural gas. In total, he expects the entire process to take a few months and cost over $30,000 after rebates. Finding contractors with all-electric building know-how, securing rebates from various sources and paying the construction bills can all be stressful. But even with his climate background, Teplin says the electrification process has been challenging.
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