New Planning Tool Guides The Home Electrification Process

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Regular readers of CleanTechnica often see a lot of stories about the need to electrify everything from transport to homes, and about the potential solutions — the products and cleantech innovations — that can support homes and businesses in the transition away from fossil fuels. And it’s all well and good to read about the benefits of home solar, or heat pumps, or induction stoves, or home energy storage, or driving an EV, but when it comes to thinking about actually beginning the process of electrification, it can be somewhat of a daunting process.

Knowing where to start can be a big hangup for many people, but learning which upgrades ought to be done first and what their upfront cost is, which ones will have the quickest financial return on investment, and which ones are more for emissions reductions over the long run or to reduce indoor air pollution, can all help guide homeowners with home electrification. In addition, knowing what incentives are available for which purchases and upgrades can make a difference when making decisions about personal electrification.

Rewiring America, a non-profit that is “focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities,” has just announced a new planning tool that can help move the home electrification movement along, as the planner will generate a personal plan based on the specifics and needs of each user.

“The new Personal Electrification Planner is built on top of a powerful data and analytical model that estimates the upfront cost, annual bill savings, annual emissions reductions, and air pollution and health impacts for a series of electrification upgrades, including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, electric dryers, EV chargers, and rooftop solar.

“Like Rewiring America’s Inflation Reduction Act Savings Calculator, the Personal Electrification Planner incorporates the federal incentives contained in the landmark climate law based on the user’s income and location – but goes beyond it with specific predictive modeling based on your housing type and provides a detailed guide for every step of the project process.”

The tool is geared toward those who own their own home, but there is also a brief guide for renters available.

“In interviewing homeowners, we heard over and over again that people learned a lot of information, often the hard way, as they took on these projects to go electric. Our goal was to develop a set of resources that could help homeowners front load these learnings, make smarter choices, and give people a better idea of what the journey could look like for their specific home. The Personal Electrification Planner really gives homeowners that advantage.” — Tom Mercer, Head of Product at Rewiring America

The Personal Electrification Planner can be accessed here, the IRA Savings Calculator is here, and there is also a free downloadable Go Electric guide to the Inflation Reduction Act available.