Paul Lauenstein
Sharon resident, member of Sustainable Sharon Coalition
Last spring, our daughter bought her first house — an all-electric “fixer-upper” built 50 years ago when electricity was cheap. The house she bought was an energy hog. With electricity rates rising fast, my wife and I knew we had to do something to help her avoid sky-high electric bills.
So began a months-long series of energy-saving measures that will save our daughter in the long term, but equally important, help her be part of the solution to climate change. In hopes it might inspire others to follow our path, here is what we did:
My daughter’s house near Amherst is too shady for solar panels, so she signed up for a community solar program at 10 percent off the conventional utility rate. With that one cost-saving switch, we practically eliminated her home’s carbon footprint.
Next, we got a free Mass Save energy assessment. We replaced all the lights with LEDs, and insulated the attic. We replaced the old clothes dryer with an energy-efficient ventless heat pump dryer that doesn’t blow hot air outdoors. We replaced the old water heater with a new, energy-efficient heat pump water heater.
The old windows were not well-insulated, so we got a quote to replace them: $34,000. That was a nonstarter, so we designed and installed clear quarter-inch plexiglass panes inside each window to minimize heat loss. It took lots of sweat-equity, but the $3,000 cost of materials was a price we could afford.
But what to do about the electric baseboard heaters, which drew so much electricity that they required their own dedicated 200-amp circuit breaker box? We installed four air-source heat pumps, each with its own compressor. Heat pumps move energy rather than generating it, so they use less than half as much energy as conventional electric baseboard heaters.
Mass Save helped us pay for it with a $10,000 rebate and a zero-interest, sevenyear loan for the balance of $10,600.
We’re confident these measures will significantly reduce our daughter’s electricity bills, and provide an attractive return on investment. The higher that electric rates go, the more of a difference energy efficiency makes.
And regardless of the cost savings, taking steps to make our homes greener is one way we can all help to address the global climate emergency.