Where to Start with Your Whole Home Electrification in Denver
Due to the mounting impacts of climate change and the rising costs of fossil fuels, many homeowners are striving to reduce their carbon footprint by transitioning to all-electric homes. These eco-friendly improvements to your property, commonly referred to as home electrification projects, offer a wealth of benefits for the environment and your family alike. If you're interested in embracing whole home electrification in Denver, it can be challenging to know where exactly to start.
All kinds of home electrification projects can significantly reduce your carbon footprint and lead to long-term savings for your family. For instance, you can:
Swap out your gas-powered heating and air conditioning system for a more efficient electric air-sourced heat pump system (i.e., Cold Climate Air-Sourced Heat Pump)
Replacing your backup power generator with an electric home battery storage system
Upgrading to a SPAN (insert link) smart electrical panel, to give you the ability to monitor, turn on/off circuits, and manage your battery back-up.
Installing solar panels on your roof to generate clean renewable energy for your home
Integrating an at-home electric vehicle charger into your garage to skip the long waits and costs at public charging stations
Many other smaller projects can also support your home electrification goals, like upgrading to energy-efficient electric appliances (stoves, water heaters, etc.) or embracing smart thermostats for better energy management.
But where should you start? Which home electrification projects should take priority over others? And how can you determine the right move for your family? Don't worry: the pros at My Electric Home will help guide you through your decision process.
Conduct an Energy Audit
First things first: you'll want to get a sense of how much energy your home uses each day and identify areas where that usage is inefficient. As such, you'll want to conduct a thorough home energy assessment/audit with a licensed BPI-certified professional. That assessment will provide a thorough analysis of your home's total energy use, often going room-by-room and system-by-system, evaluating insulation, and performing a blower door test to determine your home’s envelope (leaky or more air-tight).
Your BPI-certified professional may use state-of-the-art equipment like infrared cameras, gas leak detectors, and blower doors to assess your home's energy use, comfort, and safety. They'll pinpoint problem areas and identify opportunities to upgrade and improve your energy efficiency. For instance, your specialist may discover that your HVAC system is wasting tons of energy maintaining temperatures in rooms that are hardly used or during times when no one is home.
The knowledge gained from your home's energy audit will be invaluable as it will give you a sense of which changes are most pressing. Your whole home electrification specialist can even make personalized recommendations on which projects to tackle first, and they may provide quotes for each one.
Compare Potential Costs, Savings, and Rebates
If you're interested in whole home electrification in Denver, you'll need to treat each project like any home improvement and set aside a budget. Be aware that the average costs can be very different for each project.
For instance, it may cost over $26,800 to add a 10kW solar array system to your property, but integrating a heat pump water heater into your home is far more affordable at less than $3,000. As such, it's important to consider the typical pricing of home electrification projects.
However, it's also wise to take into account the potential long-term savings you gain from each project. While it depends on the system size, the specific panels, and your energy use, solar panels can save the average homeowner roughly $125 a month on energy costs. Incorporate a battery, to “skip” over that time of use charge and save even more. Those savings can quickly add up and help you recoup the costs of your initial investment.
In addition, home electrification projects may qualify for many local, state, and federal rebate programs and tax credits. Through the Denver CARE program, your new solar array may qualify for a rebate of $1,000 per kilowatt of installed solar capacity (up to 4kW) or $4,000 upfront credit, which can help cover the costs of your solar array installation.
It's important to keep all these financial considerations in mind when you’re comparing home electrification projects. Your home electrification specialist can help you carefully evaluate all those costs, savings, and rebates.
Consider Your Family's Needs and Prioritize Projects
Before you jump into any home electrification projects, it's essential to consider your family's needs, habits, and values. Depending on how your family behaves and operates every day, one project may clearly be a bigger priority than others.
For example, does your family use a lot of hot water throughout the day? If so, upgrading to a heat pump water heater should likely be a higher priority than other electrification projects.
Do you have any family members with allergies or respiratory issues? In that case, it's important to focus on supporting your family's long-term health by improving indoor air quality with a new electric cold-climate heat pump HVAC system.
Or have you decided it's time to trade in your gas-guzzling car for an electric vehicle? You'll save yourself tons of time in the future by integrating an EV charger into your home's garage, not to mention that there will be no more emissions tests, oil changes, spark plugs, or water pumps to replace, etc.
Get Tailored Recommendations from a Home Electrification Professional
If you're unsure which project is the best starting point for transitioning your home to all electric energy, our specialists at My Electric Home can help. We are passionate about whole home electrification in Denver, and we're on a mission to help all homeowners reduce their carbon footprint and reap BIG savings along the way.
Our talented team can conduct an evaluation of your home to identify areas of concern and opportunities for improved operational efficiency. After that assessment, we will provide personalized recommendations on the most optimal next steps for your home electrification journey. And we can help you embrace the future of home energy by coordinating, planning, and handling all of your electrification projects.
Contact My Electric Home to get started on your whole home's electrification in Denver today.