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Taking your home all electric, guide overview:
In November of 2020, with a child on the way, we bought what I hope will be our forever house. For the previous 16 years I rented and was car-free, so never felt like I could make a dent in global warming. I hate feeling helpless and believe imperfect action trumps no action at all, so I started trying. Now a year later, I’ve converted my home to sustainable electric. This guide is meant to help you do the same. I chose progress over perfection, so “results may vary” as they say, but all my steps and product choices are below with $/$$/$$$ and simple/complex ratings.
Guide Quick Links:
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STEP 1: Cut Your Bill In Half, LED & Nest (Simple $)
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STEP 2: Ditch The Gas Appliances, Induction Rocks (Complex $$)
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STEP 3: Dump The Pump, Drive Electric (Simple $$)
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STEP 4: Make TOO Much Power With Tesla Roof (Complex $$$)
Why Do This?
My altruistic motivation was to reduce carbon emissions for a better future. My practical motivation was to lower energy costs and generate an investment return.
I won’t turn this into a debate about IF we need to get off fossil fuels. The scientific community has done a great job proving we DO.
I will however, touch on one common comment I heard from fellow home owners. People seem to think their home consumption only makes up 6% of the total emissions problem. This is likely because the EPA paints that picture as seen in the black numbers on the graphic below. The EPA’s 6% home emissions are from burning fossil fuels at your home only.
On top of the 6%:
21% of electricity generation emissions are from powering our homes.
58% of transportation emissions are light duty vehicles, i.e. the cars we drive to our homes.
*Original EPA diagram is in black, my back of envelope math is purple. This roughly illustrates the impact potential of electrification.
Reduction assumptions based on 100% electrification in US. Sources: EPA estimates for CO2 emission sources: EPA 2019, Government estimate for residential energy use: Energy.gov
If we electrify all homes and cars, while producing enough clean energy to power them, we cut over 1/4 of all emissions. Rooftop solar is a good solution for single family dwellings in most places. Utility scale solar / wind / hydro / nuclear are good solutions for densely populated or sun restricted places.