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.
New heat pump and heat pump water heater
