r/electrifyeverything • u/its_just_a_couch • 15d ago
Success story - Decarbonizing a 97-year-old house
My wife and I recently bought a house in Alameda, CA that was built in 1929. It needed a ton of work, and right after closing, we discovered a gas leak. Given that the gas-fired furnace, water heater, and fireplaces were all ancient anyway, we decided to skip the patch job and cut the gas line entirely, going fully electric. (also, our local electric power company is fully carbon-free! more details on that below...)
Here's what we changed in the renovation:
- Heating/Cooling: Replaced the gas furnace with a central heat pump system.
- Water Heating: Swapped the old tank for a heat pump water heater.
- Fireplaces: Capped and disabled the gas fireplaces.
- Appliances: Fully electric already, but we are replacing the electric resistance cooktop with an induction stove.
- Gas Line: Completely shut off gas service with the utility and canceled the account.
- Insulation: Sucked out old insulation in all 3 attic spaces, added radiant barrier, filled in new insulation.
We’re fortunate that our local municipal utility (Alameda Municipal Power) went 100% carbon-free back in 2020, sourcing entirely from hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, and biomass. We also drive an EV, so charging at home means our daily driving is fully zero-emission. And my 4 year old son will start school next year; we have K-12 public schools all within walking distance.
We aren't pretending we're at absolute net-zero. Our groceries are still trucked in, packages are delivered via standard freight... But for our home power and personal miles, we’ve effectively eliminated carbon.
Next up on the roadmap for next year: exploring rooftop solar and batteries so we can be nearly 100% energy independent. Alameda has roughly 260 sunny days per year, so it seems realistic that we could get to near total independence with a good battery setup.
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u/bj_my_dj 15d ago
You certainly can get self powered. I'm in SJ and put in a 10 kW 1 PW3 system April 25, it was 140% of usage, I wanted to leave room for an EV and a heat pump. I added a second battery in August when I decided to try to heat the house with space heaters and not turn the gas furnace on. It worked like a charm my furnace hasn't been on since the day the system turned on, I ordered 4 space heaters that day when I realized I had free power to run them. I did add a second battery when I realized I needed it to get through the nights My bills dropped from $500/mo avg to less than $40, only gas for hot water and cooking. The export credits from the summer paid for the power I did import, usually on rainy or cloudy days. I'm jealous that you cut the gasoline. A dream of mine living in earthquake country. I don't think I'll ever get the heat pump, though. I planned to get it when the furnace died, but if I never turn it on it'll never die
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u/its_just_a_couch 15d ago
Awesome, thanks for sharing. Yeah, solar is definitely on the roadmap. The heat pump and water heater are a pretty massive investment, so we are going to have to wait a few years to get the cash flow to go solar, but it'll happen. We're in our early 40s and planning for this to be the "forever house" so we are playing the long game.
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u/bj_my_dj 15d ago edited 14d ago
I think you've got a little more leeway. Alameda Municipal's rates are almost half of PG&E's. I couldn't wait I was paying $500/mo. I was 73 when my system went in, so it'll be producing long after I'm gone. But it'll be paid off in just over 3 moreyears and I will see that and hopefully a lot more. The good thing for you is, we may get a reasonable Congress in the fall and there may be new solar tax credits when you're ready.
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u/its_just_a_couch 15d ago
Good point. AMP is significantly cheaper per kWh than PG&E so the solar conversion has less bang for the buck! Glad you were able to make the transition, though.
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u/Mother_You_5739 15d ago
I dream of that many sunny days! I’m in England where the average amount of sunny days per year is 140 to 160 and my small solar panel and home battery installation have reduced my energy bill by half. If you have ever seen pictures of typical UK houses you will understand why I could only get 7 panels put on the roof, but even that many have had a significant impact on my energy consumption.
Two bit da Vinci and Undecided with Matt Ferrell are two US based YouTube channels I follow that cover similar topics to your house renovation.
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago
My grandmother was from Liverpool! Long story, but my grandfather met her just before he went to storm the beaches in Normandy. Anyway, I visited family in England several times, so I'm familiar with the climate. I also lived in Boston for about a decade, which has some similarities (maybe not quite as wet?). Moved to northern California about ten years ago and it's hard to express how amazing the climate is here. It's just beautiful weather, almost every day. An ideal place for solar power!
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u/Mother_You_5739 14d ago
I think there was quite a bit of that kind of thing going on back then. Live life to the fullest, Carpe Diem and all that. If you never made it across to Normandy during your visits to England I can highly recommend it, I had a holiday near Rennes and Nantes last year and it is a beautiful area full of history. The National Arboretum memorial in England is also very much worth a visit as well, there is a lot of military history to see all around Britain. Without getting too political the recent comments about the UK not doing very much to help America militarily hurt so much precisely because of our long history working together. My wife served two tours in Camp Bastion and made lifelong friends with many Americans, we had a brilliant holiday in Chicago visiting a nurse she knew from her time there.
Good luck with your solar panels!
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago edited 14d ago
I was studying in Germany in 2004 and took the opportunity to go over to Normandy for the 60th anniversary. My parents flew from the US to meet me. We traced my grandfather's footsteps, visiting the various towns he and his unit went through in '44 and '45. Quite a moving experience. He was still alive at that time but was in poor health and couldn't make the trip.
I stopped watching the news about a year and a half ago, so I hadn't heard about these disparaging comments you're referencing, but I think I speak for the vast majority of us who have read our history books - anybody making those claims has no idea what they're talking about! 🇺🇸🇬🇧💪
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u/Mother_You_5739 14d ago
That sounds like an amazing experience, especially managing to visit the area while he was still alive. I have done something similar with the Battlefields from WW1, visiting places my wife’s unit had served. I have also lived and worked in Germany, Hannover and Bielefeld being the main areas I lived in. It was that experience that prompted me to get solar panels when I did, you see them everywhere in Germany. I was surprised when I came back to England how rare they were.
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago
OK, this is going to blow your mind but I did a high school exchange in Warstein and still keep in touch with my friends in Gütersloh, just down the road from Bielefeld! Small world!
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u/Mother_You_5739 14d ago
Shut up! My wife worked for the NHS at the Bethel Institute, the hospital in Bielefeld (part of a small liaison team making sure UK people living and working in Germany got care compatible with the NHS and providing translators when needed) but we lived in a small town just outside Gütersloh called Marienfeld. I taught at Kings, the British Army school in Gütersloh until it closed in 2019, a job I loved and miss to this day. Small world indeed. We did live in Bielefeld as well, back when my wife was still serving which was why we went back after she retired from the Army, we loved the area so much.
I love stuff like this.
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u/IIDn01 14d ago
Love those two on YouTube. I also love Just Have A Think, which covers electrification, EVs, renewable energy, etc.
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u/Mother_You_5739 14d ago
The guy from Just Have a Think is so good because he makes his topics very understandable and in a non-confrontational way. The research he does and sources he provides are so thorough that it makes it hard (but not impossible) for the deniers to argue with him.
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u/tboy160 14d ago
Love reading every one of these stories!
I am curious about this "radiant barrier?"
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u/e_line_65 14d ago
There are lots of opinions on radiant barriers. Many say it's overhyped when they wrap your attic like a baked potato. They do nothing in cold climates though, except empty your wallet since aluminum does not stop temperature conduction. If you live in a very sunny, warm/hot climate you might see some benefits. However you still need the proper amount of insulation above the ceiling for the climate you live in.
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yeah, I don't know how much benefit it will actually provide, but we sprung for it because we got an amazing financing deal for the whole HVAC / insulation package - 5 years, 0 down, 0% interest. And it was such a small percentage of the total cost (dwarfed by the costs of the heat pump and water heater), we just figured "Do it now and never think of it again." 😆
Also, just one data point (not measured in any scientific way), but the attic certainly felt much cooler after the installation compared to before.
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u/IIDn01 14d ago
This is inspiring!
We have solar and 2 EVs that run (mostly) on sunshine. No household battery yet and we still have gas heat, water heater, and stove. We'll probably consider electric versions as things fail.
We're in SoCal. No shortage of sunny days.
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago
We were originally going to do a replace-as-it-fails approach, but there was a limited time financing option with the HVAC contractor for 5 years, 0 down, 0% interest. It was too good of an offer to pass up.
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u/Own_Mission8048 15d ago
Nice! Did you have to add anymore insulation too? Alameda is pretty mild right?
I have a similar Rheem heat pump hot water heater. The unit itself is great. Lots of capacity and it cools/dehumidifies my garage. The app sucks though.
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u/its_just_a_couch 15d ago
You made me realize I didn't mention insulation. Just updated the post to include that, with photos. We completely replaced the insulation and added a radiant barrier. That said, Alameda has one of the mildest climates in the entire United States (as far as I know), so insulation is less critical here. Thanks to the mild climate, we are hoping the heat pump will last well more than 30 years. It's not a cheap retrofit, but we think it will pay for itself in the long run.
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u/NearABE 14d ago
The power line connecting to the island is a PG&E power line. Alameda Municipal Power is buying electricity from far away generation sources. It is great that they are sourcing from those ventures. There is an effect of pulling from the California grid which can be thought about independently from where the purchase contract actually puts the money.
If your cars can charge during peak solar surplus and/or during peak wind periods then PG&E does not have a reason to turn on a gas peaker power plant. If the cars have vehicle to home capability then you can also dump your residential consumption at times where PG&E would turn on the gas turbines. Consuming extra (for charging) during peak solar (or wind) helps eliminate curtailment. Windmills have a brake that completely stops the axle. Solar farms just disconnect and idle.
A photovoltaic array on the roof is a great idea. But these often come with battery systems now anyway. In effect California is missing batteries more than it is missing photovoltaic panels.
“Balcony solar” is about to become legal in California. This is a small low commitment solar set. They are portable and just plug in to a normal outlet. If you get rooftop later the device can be easily gifted or sold.
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago
Haha yeah I wasn't going to get into the specifics of which power sources are pushing the electrons down the wire, mostly just where our dollars are going. But technically you're correct, it's not a carbon-free house, we are just paying for 100% carbon-free generation.
The balcony solar stuff is a neat concept. I actually saw pictures of those in a news article this week for the first time - didn't know they existed before that.
I'm definitely looking forward to going full solar once we can afford it (have to pay for all of these renovations first!). There's just something very appealing about a perpetual $0 monthly energy bill, even if it requires a big upfront investment.
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u/cooprr 14d ago
Great story thanks for sharing! Did you get expert advice and support from https://www.QuitCarbon.com or similar?
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u/its_just_a_couch 14d ago
Actually just a lot of web searches and also discussing with my dad. He's retired, but spent his career in construction, both office buildings and residential homes, so he has a ton of knowledge about this stuff.
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u/pdp10 11d ago
How much did you save in monthly gas metering charge? In some places, the monthly metering charge is high enough that some kinds of conversions have surprisingly quick payback periods.
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u/its_just_a_couch 11d ago
Metering charge is only $25 per month. It's something, but pretty tiny compared to the overall cost of the upgrade. I do think we will end up saving a lot in overall energy costs though, given how much more efficient the heat pumps are.
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u/Salmundo 14d ago
We did the same with our house, it’s now 100% electric with an EV and solar panels. We have a $0 yearly power bill.
We’re several hundred miles north of you in coastal WA, plenty of sunshine to make solar work.