There are several generally recognized practices that one can take to reduce our use of fossil fuels, helping combat climate change and improve resilience. As someone who helps develop renewable energy power plants, I’m the first to admit that we can build as many of those as we want, and it still will not reduce emissions unless in tandem we stop burning stuff. Electrification is the solution.

Even as an energy engineer, I’ll admit that learning how to upgrade our existing home to shift more energy use from fossil fuels to electric has been a slow incremental process. It’s taken a fair bit of research and learning from others, including other homeowners, contractors and #vanlifers. This post is intended to help other people in similar situations, outlining tools and tips not just for home owners, but also upgrades applicable to renters.

By way of background, our home is a little townhouse with an attached garage. It was built in the early 2000s, with natural gas heat, water heater, and range. It had no air conditioning, and while ventilating with fans and cool air at night and then shutting up the house in the day can work, that strategy doesn’t work great if there are hot smoky days from forest fires. Which are increasingly common in Jul-Sep in the Western US. Also gets hot in the kitchen in the summer when cooking. It would not be uncommon for the smoke alarm around the gas range to go off (maybe more a testament to cooking skills).

There is a 100 amp circuit breaker panel. There is no 240V outlet in the garage, just 120V receptacles. We had two infernal combusion engine (ICE) vehicles, both older (one 10+ years driven often, one 30+ years driven seldom).

Our community has an environmental group called the Climate Action Coalition of the Wood River Valley. In supporting them, I’ve learned a lot from others about how they have progressively upgraded aging features of their home to reduce emissions and improve their overall home environment. The group in 2023-2024 had several initiatives to help educate and lead people through their projects, collecting:

  1. Case studies that illustrate benefits and lessons learned for various upgrades
  2. A list of local relevant contractors (HVAC, plumbers, electricians etc.)
  3. A list of applicable incentives (tax, utility etc.)
  4. Outreach strategies for the community

Various online tools provide guides to various upgrade technologies, incentives, installation considerations and other issues. Using these are kind of fun, helps gamify the process. Here is a screenshot from one, though I understand this organization (Canopy Climate) is going away. Still, was a neat template.

Upgrade list (Canopy Climate)

One can learn a lot from other homeowners, as well as from these online guides. For those interested in pursuing home upgrades, either as homeowners or renters, I thought it might be useful to tabulate all the things I’ve done so far, or intended. Only fair to help others learn as others have helped me. This list may get a little long, and will evolve over time. In general it will follow the Canopy Climate categories, as shown in the upgrade list. There are some principles I’d been following even before discovering that page that are consistent with being energy-efficienct and cost-effective:

  1. Dual use is preferred if something has multiple applications: home, camping, lending to others.
  2. Multiple benefits: can an upgrade reduce CO2 emissions? Also improve indoor air quality? Improve comfort and sleep quality? Improve home resilience to events like wildfire smoke, heat waves or power outages?
  3. Inexpensive: no shame in using things one can pick up from the thrift store.
  4. Replacement: one can consider the price of replacing aging appliances that are close to death not as a new elective cost per se, but merely part of the “joys of home ownership.” Related to this could be a boost in home value from upgrades.
  5. Doomsday prepper: nice to have items that one can use during apocalyptic events.

So here’s my steadily evolving list of upgrades in the twelve categories…

1. Home Battery

This started very, very small, with a free power bank similar to those made by Anker, with around 10 watt-hours (Wh). Enough to charge a phone or other small DC devices. I paired this with a GoalZero Nomad 7, and used these backpacking or bikepacking. Or at home to charge phones up, if there were an outage.

That certainly isn’t much energy storage, so over time I accumulated two Bluetti AC50S power stations (300W, 500 Wh). Those get used all the time in our camper van, and can run a small 12V fridge, charge devices, run fans and lights, and even cooking devices (more on that later). These are paired with one 100W portable folding solar panel and one 100W rigid panel. We can get by indefinitely in the van with this setup, if we are mindful of power use. Cooking with electric means we don’t have to buy or dispose of those annoying green propane cylinders.

The two of us work from home, and our typical office loads (laptop, monitors, router) are 50-100W each. When we have a power outage (can be a couple times a year), we can run each office from one power station for several hours. Even a few hours of work interruption can equate to several hundred dollars of revenue, so staying online has significant value.

Those small power stations were useful in a pinch and highly portable, but cannot run other critical home loads like the fridge, freezer or other medium-sized applicances. So to cover those, and to provide some more oomph if needed for camping adventures, we got a Bluetti AC180: 1800W inverter, 1152 Wh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery. Now in a jam we can run the fridge and freezer, plus other selected loads, for a longer duration. What’s more, we can slowly recharge this from our electric vehicle (EV), meaning if we are careful about managing loads, we could get by for several days during an extended outage.

LFP batteries have a long life, with thousands of cycles before degradation is significant. We do not cycle this often, so that’s not an issue.

Bluetti AC180 with purple cookpot (on high setting, ~700W)

Portable power stations are a decent option for a renter. They provide nice dual purpose use for car camping.

A pet project might be to install a transfer switch/subpanel with an even larger power station to keep selected essential home hardwired circuits powered during an outage, but that’s venturing further into doomsday prepper mode. If we had an EV with 240V vehicle to load (VTL) capability, which may be available someday, it would be more appealing.

2. Heat Pump Water Heater

We currently have a 20+ year old gas-fired water heater, located in our garage. It is due for replacement. It’s not thermodynamically very intelligent to use combustion gases at thousands of degrees F to heat water to a little over 100 F. Thus, when we upgrade it, we plan to move to a more efficient heat pump water heater.

There is a 120V receptacle adjacent to the water heater, and no 240V. Ideally we’d get something like the Rheem ProTerra Plug-In 120V model, to avoid any electrical works. A limitation on this model is that the operating range only goes down to 37 deg F, else it would need a defrost function. The temperature in the garage can dip below that on very cold days, so we might need to get one of the hybrid models that can use resistive elements for heating when too cold. Most of those are 240V, and it would be costly (several thousand dollars) to run a 240V outlet to the garage.

Something like the AO Smith Voltex 120V Plug-In 66 gallon version with hybrid capabilities might be suitable. Exploring these options is a work in progress. A homeowner should review these choices with a qualified contractor, since there are lot of details like available space, ambient temperature and condensate handling where preferred solutions will vary depending on the setting.

3. Energy Audit

There are incentives available for home energy audits, but I haven’t had one done. As an engineer, doing that kind of analysis myself is part of the fun. It would be useful to see what steps are involved though, so perhaps eventually.

4. Insulations, Windows, Doors etc.

We replace our door weatherstripping seals periodically, and put up the plastic window insulation kits in winter. Our windows are 20+ years old so their time will come, but as it stands replacement windows are astronomically expensive, so it’s hard to justify. Glass is glass so there probably is not much improvement by replacement, if the existing sash/frame is not too leaky. By all rights weatherizations should be #1 on most people’s lists as a low cost, high impact upgrade, and can qualify for tax credits.

5. Smart Thermostat

We do not have a smart thermostat. Well, sort of. I turn it down, someone else turns it up. Both smart, just different preferences.

6. Electric Clothes Dryer

Technically we have three clothes dryers:

  • A simple wooden rack indoors: this is my favorite and an easy cost-saving add for renters. Out here in the western US it only takes a day, if that. Adds some humidity to the air as well.
  • Solar: gets you outside, and speeds up the process a bit.
  • Electric dryer: we hardly use ours. Suppose if it ever did need replacement, we’d look into the heat pump dryer options. That would free up a 240V breaker that could feed a circuit in the garage. No need for it now though.

7. Rooftop Solar

Where we live in Idaho, electric rates are quite low, and the utility does not give a great deal on net metering. Therefore, it’s hard to justify the economics on cost/revenue alone. However, people do plenty of things for enjoyment that have a negative IRR (dining out, snowmobiles, brand name clothing).

So yes, it would be fun to have a modest 1-2 kW permanently mounted solar system. This would be more for data nerding fun as well as provide backup power during outages. For now we could get by on 200W of portable panels, plus the EV. Our roof is coming up on a need for replacement, and doesn’t have the best solar aspects, so panels on a shed might be more feasible. Work in progress.

If you like car camping, those portable panels plus a little power station open up a lot of comfort options. A 12V mini fridge or electric blanket can be quite the luxury.

8. Electric Vehicle

In 2022 we replaced an old Honda Civic with a Volkswagen ID4 AWD. This is our every day driver, and we’ll go on moderate length (500-1000 mile) road trips with it as well. Logic for getting this was that it had higher ground clearance than several other options, and decent range. Objectively the Tesla Model Y would have had better range, efficiency and charging speed/network, but the ID4 is a very comfortable vehicle that meets our needs fine, living in a mountain town. Traction is good. Having something that can warm up quickly and quietly on remote command is great in winter, as opposed to our neighbors that will idle their cold ICE vehicles for 15+ minutes in the driveway.

We simply charge at 120V (Level 1) in the garage, nothing special required for our driving habits. Home charging adds around $10-20 per month to the electric bill, which are considerable savings versus gasoline. Spending <$300 for “fuel” for a year is pleasant. If you get an EV, look at your driving patterns before investing in a 240V level 2 charger, which may or may not be necessary. Admittedly a 240V charge would likely be more efficient.

Do not see us buying any ICE vehicles in the future.

Hoping this gets built someday: have a reservation for an Aptera, which would be the ultimate high efficiency, long distance road trip vehicle, as well as serving as a home solar/battery backup. Time will tell.

9. Electric Bike and Mower

While e-bikes are great for extending people’s capability, we get by fine for now on acoustic bikes. In a town with good infrastructure one hardly needs a car. Some say bikes are the Greatest Invention of All Time. You can be a fine grocery getter with panniers.

For bikepacking I bring along a little battery and solar panel to recharge electronics. Sometimes I tote along a small 120V immersion heater, to heat up things without using JetBoil fuel, if there may be stops with receptacles.

Small mowers are a PITA to keep running, keep gasoline on hand etc. We have a tiny lawn and equally small 13″ Ryobi 18 One+ mower. Works fine and packs away small in the garage for winter. An electric chainsaw might be nice, but not essential given the existence of hand saws.

10. Renewable Energy

We did sign up with Idaho Power in their “Clean Energy Your Way” plan. Does it actually lead decisively to more green energy development? Am a bit skeptical, but participate in it anyway. It was easy to do and doesn’t cost much in Idaho.

11. Cooking with Electricity

Our gas stove was old, stinky and set off the smoke alarm often. It also produces a lot of heat in summer, making the kitchen uncomfortable. An easy first step in electrification was the accidental find of a $3 Rival Crockette crockpot at a local thrift store. We’d set this in the garage or outside and cook items like chicken or pork in there, reducing the heat load in the kitchen. What’s more, the wattage (<100W) was small enough that it could run off a power station, such that we could use it car camping. This eliminated our use of those expensive/hard to dispose of green 1 lb propane canisters. We also have a small solar stove, if batteries get low.

Next step was to find a little 120V cookpot from Dezin, again with low wattage (<300W, on the low setting). This can run from the small power stations and can fry food as well, or more swiftly heat up items like soup or water than the crockpot. Great for car camping or power outages at home.

Final step in the “small” category was to get a Duxtop portable induction cooktop for less than $100. We used this in a similar fashion to the others, but this is as powerful as a regular gas burner. With some little metal covers over the gas range burners, we could use the Duxtop instead and never use the gas, unless for baking. This would be a good electrification solution for renters who want to improve their indoor air quality.

Eventually we wanted to replace the full-size gas range in the kitchen. We were fortunate enough to have a 30A, 240V outlet already in place behind the range. It was simple to pull the old stove and replace it with a Samsung Induction Range from Home Depot.

The induction range is easy to clean, air quality is definitely better (smoke alarm hasn’t gone off once!), and its higher efficiency means it produces less heat, which is good for summer. If you have kids, please consider these strongly, since those tiny growing lungs are more sensitive to the emissions from combustion.

Would never go back to a gas stove.

12. Heat Pump

Our gas boiler is over 20 years old, and has had failures every couple of years. Obviously it also does not provide air conditioning. Some system that could take over most of its duty, if not all, seemed like a good investment. This is a relatively cold climate so we needed something with good winter performance.

In the fall of 2023 we added a 2 ton Mitsubishi M-series mini-split unit with the H2i Hyper-Heating inverter technology. There probably were other good options such as from Daikin, but I wanted a Mitsubishi unit, having done many projects with them over the years. Took the contractor a day to install it and hook up the 240V electricals. Do get a qualified contractor that can offer a system suitable for the home and climate.

So far it has worked great, even in subzero deg F temperatures. Heat from the mini-split on the first floor naturally rises to the second level, and we can do a little bit of tuning with small space heaters if needed in spots of the house, same as we did with the gas. Have not used the boiler once this year, other than deliberately turning it on just to see if it would still operate. Typically we let the house float in the mid-60s deg F on the mini-split, and leave the gas boiler on auto with a setpoint at 60 F. This provides a backup to prevent freezing in case we are out of town and the mini-split has issues.

Summary

Electricity costs in Idaho are low, with over 50% of our generation coming from hydropower, wind, solar and geothermal. We have to import our fossil fuels, so electrification is a natural fit here to keep more money in the state.

Typically with the gas boiler, range and water heater, the gas bills would be around $100 per month in winter. Naturally that depended on gas costs which varied from around $0.4 per therm in 2022, up to $0.7 in mid-2023, and at start of 2024 were around $0.5. Our gas usage in winter has dropped about 80% with the addition of the heat pump and induction range. We still pay about $12-20 per month for the gas water heater usage, much of which is a fixed customer charge.

Electricity costs pre-EV, pre-electric appliances were around $30-70, depending on the season. With the EV, heat pump and induction range they are running around $50 a month in summer, $150 in winter. Basically the costs for natural gas usage has declined about as much as the electrical costs for heating and cooking have increased.

Our costs for vehicle gasoline (historically >$1000/year) has declined significantly more than the increase in electrical costs due to home charging. The latter is perhaps <$240/year, plus a bit of charging on road trips which is free for three years courtesy of the ID4 and Electrify America. We take fewer 2000-3000 mile road trips now, which would be easier with a Tesla and their network, but as we would only do about one of those a year, it is not a significant impediment. Something that will be more workable as infrastructure and vehicles improve.

The net collective improvement in air quality, comfort, functionality and other electrification benefits has been significant. Overall the “electrification journey” for each household will be different, but hopefully these examples illustrate what can be done incrementally for typical small homes and even renters.