Would you like your home to be comfortable, healthy, and climate friendly? You can achieve this with an all-electric home, replacing your gas appliances with energy-efficient electric alternatives. This series of How-To Guides provides information to help you plan your path of electrification to improve the health of your family and preserve a livable climate.

Background

The greenhouse gasses that cause climate change come from many sources – transportation, buildings, industry, agriculture, etc. In Massachusetts, accordingto the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030 (page 7), buildings account for more than a quarter of our state’s emissions, with residential buildings accounting for 19%. Because Brookline is a more urban environment with people walking and taking public transit, and only a small commercial sector, our residential buildings are likely responsible for closer to one half of our town’s total emissions! The good news is that renters, condo-owners, homeowners and landlords can all take actions to reduce emissions from our homes.

A graph of household energy use in Massachusetts: 59% space heating, 24% Appliances & Lights, 16% water heating, 1% air conditioningThe information in this chart is from Household Energy Use in Massachusetts, page 1, EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration).

Emissions from residential buildings in Massachusetts come from burning fossil fuels – oil, gas and propane – for heating, hot water, cooking and clothes drying. The emissions from your home can be hard to see, but they contribute to climate change and also create harmful pollution, including inside your home. The pie chart shows the percentage of household energy use in Massachusetts.

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon fuels extracted from the earth, including natural gas, coal and petroleum products like heating oil, propane and gasoline. When fossil fuels are burned, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing significantly to climate change.

Decarbonization means the process of reducing or ending our use of these hydrocarbon-based fossil fuels.

Electrification goes hand in hand with Decarbonization, as we will need to electrify all of our appliances and systems, replacing fossil fuel based equipment with all-electric models.

The recently published Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap (page 51) includes an ambitious near-term goal of the complete electrification of one million homes across the state by 2030. In addition to individual actions, the massive scale of this effort will require systemic change – policy changes, financial support, technical assistance, job training, and utility transitions to enable ALL homes to access clean renewable energy systems.

The Roadmap outlines an approach to reach the Commonwealth’s decarbonization goals through four straightforward efforts:

1. Reduce Energy Demand
2. Use 100% Renewable Electricity
3. Electrify Everything
4. Sequester Carbon

Brookline households can take actions in their homes to address the first three of these efforts.

Whether you live in an apartment, a condo, or a single family home; whether you are a home-owner, condo-owner, landlord, or tenant, we can all reduce our use of fossil fuels and protect the climate.

1. Reduce Energy Demand

This simply means using less energy. Luckily there are several, easy steps you can take to reduce your energy demand:

• Use a programmable thermostat to turn down heating and air conditioning
• Unplug “energy vampire” appliances such as screens that use power even when turned off
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs, and turn off lighting when not in use
• When you need to replace an appliance, make sure it is as energy efficient as possible

Beyond these simple steps, a more comprehensive step to reduce your home’s energy demand is Weatherization – thoroughly insulating the exterior of your home from roof to basement, and sealing up leaky gaps at windows and doors. Think of it like this: “Your home is an essential part of your heating system” – the more attention you pay to insulation and air sealing, the less energy you will need to heat and cool your home – and the lower your utility bills!

The Mass Save program provides free resources that will help with these steps. Their no-cost Home Energy Assessment – available for renters, condo-owners, home-owners and landlords – reviews your residence for energy efficiency and weatherization improvements. Mass Save provides incentives that make the cost of this work heavily discounted and sometimes totally free, and they maintain a list of contractors certified to perform the recommended work.

2. Use 100% Renewable Electricity

To reduce our climate emissions, we need to have our electric grid totally powered by clean, non-emitting energy sources like wind, solar and hydro. Brookline makes it easy to choose 100% green electricity with its Community Choice Aggregation program, known as Brookline Green Electricity (BGE for short). By negotiating a bulk purchase of electricity for Brookline customers in partnership with the Town of Brookline, BGE offers increased levels of renewable electricity. For all of the details and enrollment options see the BGE website.

A further step to use 100% renewable electricity would be to install solar panels on your roof. The Energy Sage platform can be a good place to start. It’s a marketplace developed with support from the US Department of Energy that provides a simple way to get multiple solar bids. You can also ask for advice from neighbors who have already installed rooftop solar. The installation costs can be offset by incentives through the utility companies, as well as state and federal tax credits. And there are also options for leasing solar panels instead of purchasing them outright.

Enrolling in a Community Shared Solar (CSS) program offers a way to help expand solar installations in Massachusetts while receiving a discount on your electricity bill. Programs are offered by solar developers and generally approved by the state; more info can be found on the brookinegreen.com website: (you’ll need to scroll down).

3. Electrify Everything

Wherever equipment and appliances in your home use fossil fuels, they will need to be replaced with electric models. Electric “heat pump” equipment to heat and cool your home is now more cost-effective and appropriate for New England’s climate. Electric options are also available for appliances such as your water heater, clothes dryer, and stove/cooktop. Switching to energy-efficient, all-electric equipment and appliances powered by renewable electricity will go a long way toward reducing our climate emissions.

It can be challenging trying to understand all the factors to consider before making any progress toward electrification. These How-To Guides are geared to Brookline homes of various sizes and ownership, and include stories of neighbors who’ve switched to electric equipment. Guides that are currently available are numbered from simplest and least expensive upgrades, to those that may require more planning.

1. LED Lighting
2. Weatherization: Insulation and Air Sealing
3. Induction Cooking
4. Heat Pump Water Heaters
5. Heat Pump Dryers
6. Heating and Cooling with Air Source Heat Pumps
7. Electrical Service – What You Need to Know
8. Renewable Electricity

When Should I Electrify?

The Quit Carbon website puts it this way:

• The best time to have switched your fossil gas appliances to electric was a few years ago – if we’d all done that, we’d have a dramatically lower risk of climate catastrophe.
• The next best time is right now – our planet can’t afford for us to wait to stop burning fossil fuels.
• The worst time is when you are in a hurry. If you wait to electrify your water heater until your old heater has sprung a leak and your showers are cold, you’ll almost certainly get another gas heater as electrifying in an emergency is extra tricky.

Make a Plan

Since all your appliances will eventually need replacement, plan ahead for electrification so that you are ready before an emergency arises. Renters and condo-owners may not have control over all of their equipment and appliances; landlords may not be able to make electrification upgrades while units are rented; property owners may not be able to complete a total electrification project all at once.

But most of us can make some beneficial changes, and planning ahead can help clarify what changes, if any, will require further coordination with other residents, landlords or condo associations when new equipment needs to be installed.

Choose what you’ll tackle first based on:

• The equipment and appliances that are your responsibility for maintaining and replacing
• The age and condition of your existing appliances and your heating system
• The estimated replacement cost and annual savings from switching to energy-efficient electric models
• Whether you’ll need electrical system upgrades to install the new equipment and appliances
• The impact your new electric appliances will have on your emissions and indoor air quality

Rewiring America is a terrific resource for helping you make your Electrification Plan. Their guide, “Electrify Everything in Your Home,” copyright ©2021, includes a handy chart laying out options that can help you make a plan for electrifying your residence.

Ideally every Brookline household will begin to assess their current energy use, and the appliances and equipment that are under their control; gathering this data is an important first step to help make a plan to decarbonize their home. It likely will involve researching the age of each appliance/system to determine likely replacement timeframes, meeting with an electrician to plan for any upgrades needed, meeting with vendors and contractors to understand equipment options, and investigating available rebates and incentives.

We’ve created a checklist to help you think about changes and start making a plan.

Every building and home is different, and each plan requires an eye on the details as well as the big picture so you can make changes incrementally, budget for them, and take advantage of any cost savings from state and federal incentives, rebates, and tax credits. The good news is that many of your fellow Brookline residents have completed or are in process of completing their own decarbonization projects so there are many opportunities to learn about successful strategies from community members as you embark on your own electrification projects.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

While electrifying everything in your home can be a financial investment, both the state and the federal government have tax credits and rebates to help offset some of the expenses.

Rebates from Mass Save: Mass Save offers no-cost Home Energy Assessments – either in-person or virtual – which can be a great starting point for understanding your electrification priorities; the Assessment is often required to be eligible for Mass Save’s 0% interest loans and rebates for heating and cooling equipment, energy efficient appliances, and home weatherization.

Rebates and Tax Credits from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act: As these are constantly evolving, be sure to verify the latest information.

A good resource for information on the new IRA is Rewiring America, where they provide IRA fact sheets and a savings calculator. They also have a complete guide to the Inflation Reduction Act, including case studies.

Another good resource is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which includes a table on available incentives from both our state and the federal government.

We hope these guides can help you get started on the path to decarbonizing your home. Your efforts, along with others in the community, will make a big impact on your emissions as well as on those of our town.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1: A Two-Family Home Carries Out a Multi-Year Electrification Plan

The homeowners had lived in the upper two floors of this 1890’s two-family for over thirty years, and had made some environmental improvements over the years, switching from oil heat to gas, changing every light bulb to LED. But with increasing knowledge of the climate crisis, the owners wanted to take more significant steps to improve the performance of their home. Their goal was to electrify everything in their home, but because they knew that the work would need to be carried out in phases, they made a plan to guide their Home Electrification progress.

The first step was to improve the insulation and air sealing in their old house. They had heard others explain, “Your house is an essential part of your heating system.” By improving the performance of the exterior of the house, the heat pumps they planned to install would be able to operate more efficiently, with less electricity use, and less cost.

Through the Mass Save program they had contractors install blown-in cellulose insulation in the exterior walls of the house. Because they live in a two-family home, they received 100% incentives from the Mass Save program, so ZERO cost. The Mass Save contractor couldn’t address all of the areas needing insulation, but getting the exterior walls done was a large piece.

When they took on a bigger construction project the following year, they took care of drainage problems in the basement, added spray foam insulation on the basement stone foundation walls, and insulated the critical floor framing connecting the basement walls and exterior walls. The contractors also insulated the trickier areas on the third floor under the sloped roof, in the eaves and the attic. The goal was to connect all of these insulated areas, so the house is wrapped with a more complete layer of insulation, and the air leaks are blocked. This has really helped the house stay warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and much quieter overall.

Planning ahead for electrification of the house, they took a further step and installed solar panels on the roof. In the first two years of operation, the solar panels generated more electricity than the owners used every month – partly because they went through all of the efforts to reduce their energy demand. This overproduction built up a big credit on their Eversource bill to be used later on as more electric appliances were added.

The more challenging step in an older home is to get rid of existing gas infrastructure and electrify everything, and this is where some planning really helped. The owners looked at all of the equipment and appliances in their home fueled by gas. With two dwelling units, they had two gas stoves, two gas clothes dryers, two gas-fired boilers for the heating systems, and one big gas hot water heater. All of these would need to be transitioned from fossil fuels to electricity.

The third floor of the house – the bedroom floor for their upstairs apartment – had been unbearably hot in the summer and not very well cooled by noisy window air conditioners. So they installed a heat pump system for heating AND cooling this level, ducted through the attic above; by removing the hot water radiators on the top floor, they cut down about half the use of their gas-fired heating system for the upstairs unit. They also switched out both gas stoves to electric induction and changed the upstairs gas clothes dryer to electric. This was a good first step in reducing their use of fossil fuels.

The owners were very pleased with the third floor heat pump system – quiet, comfortable and uniformly heated and cooled. Eighteen months later they decided to install heat pumps for the rest of the house, along with switching out the water heater and the clothes dryer in the basement. All of the old cast-iron radiators and piping were removed and recycled, the floors patched and refinished where those radiators used to be, new ductwork added for the heat pump systems, and – perhaps most satisfying – they had the pleasure of watching the gas company remove the two meters and completely disconnecting the home from the gas piping in the street.

The winter of 2022-2023 had been their first heating season totally disconnected from the gas system – no more gas boilers and gas fired hot water heater in the basement, no more dusty old cast iron radiators or pipes anywhere in the house. During the record-setting February cold snap with overnight temperatures down to -11 degrees, their all-electric home performed very well overall. The temperature control wasn’t perfect – and their 125-year old house is far from a perfectly designed new house – but nothing in the heat pump performance affected their comfort sleeping or getting up for breakfast, and by noon-time the heat pump system was maintaining the temperature perfectly again. The homeowners were happy to collect real time data during that extreme cold snap and add their experiences to the Boston Globe article documenting the generally excellent performance of heat pumps during the historic weather event. Properly designed cold climate heat pumps in a reasonably weatherized house CAN handle the worst of New England winter weather without a fossil fuel back-up system!

More Stories

The Rewiring America site has an excellent guide which contains four case studies with costs and rebates included.

Want to save money every month on your electricity bill and reduce your carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time? Then it’s time to change EVERY light bulb in your home to energy-efficient LEDs! These days, it is easy to buy LED light bulbs at supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware stores, big box stores, or through online retailers.

What Is an LED light bulb?

LED stands for light emitting diode. Energy-saving LED bulbs produce light up to 90% more efficiently than traditional incandescent light bulbs. They work by passing an electrical current through a microchip, which illuminates the tiny light sources we call LEDs and the result is visible light. The size and shape of LED bulbs can look very similar to typical 60- or 75-watt incandescent bulbs, but the tiny print on the bulb will indicate that their wattage (and energy use) is very low – typically less than 15 watts.

How Can LEDs Help the Climate?

Lighting contributes to your carbon footprint AND to your electricity bill. LED light bulbs use significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs, and new LED light bulbs can last 10 years or more!

What’s Involved?

Create an organized list: Start with a floor plan of your home or a list of each of the rooms and write down notes about all of the incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulbs to replace with LED. Some bulbs will be in light fixtures installed on the wall or ceiling;; some will be in table or floor lamps. Be sure to include light bulbs in closets, hallways, basements and other areas of your home.

Verify the bulb details: For each bulb to be replaced, note all the details so you can select the proper replacement bulb:

• Is the bulb standard size and shape (“general purpose” or “A19”), or is it a special shape such as a globe, flood light, or candle flame shape?
• Is the bulb screw base standard size or is it a special type (usually on smaller bulbs)?
• Is the bulb in an enclosed fixture, or is the bulb open to the surrounding air?
• Is the lamp or light fixture controlled by a standard on/off switch, or is there a dimmer switch or timer switch, or is it a lamp with a 3-way bulb (low/medium/high settings)?
• What is the wattage of the incandescent or fluorescent bulb?

The image shows incandescent bulbs on left, LED replacement bulbs on the right. When you head to the store with your list of bulbs, be sure to find LED replacements that match the details of the existing bulbs – size, shape, screw base type, equivalent wattage, etc. If you have some non-standard bulbs, you may need to take samples to the store to verify that you are selecting the correct LED replacement. Look for bargains! You can purchase heavily discounted bulbs online through the MassSave program. At local home improvement stores, some LED bulbs may also be offered with a MassSave discount.

Because LED bulbs last much longer than incandescents, you may only have to do this bulb replacement project once, so it’s important to gather all of the details and shop in an organized way to have the greatest success.

What Choices Are There?

• LED bulbs come in various color temperatures noted as Soft White (2700K) to provide a warm light similar to incandescent bulbs or Bright White (3000K – 3500K) similar to fluorescent. Bulbs noted as Daylight (5000K) will likely seem too harsh for a home.
• If needed, ensure that the bulb is suitable for enclosed fixtures.
• If needed, look for indications that the bulb is dimmable. Note that dimmer switches used with incandescent or fluorescent bulbs may not work with LED bulbs, and the switch may need to be replaced by an electrician (see below).
• Low voltage LED replacement bulbs are available for standard screw-in bulbs as well as those typically found in recessed lighting fixtures.  Check to make sure they are compatible with your fixtures before you make a purchase.

Other Considerations

If you are replacing any fluorescent bulbs, these bulbs contain small amounts of toxic substances inside the bulb and need to be recycled at stores with bulb recycling bins, or through Household Hazardous Waste collections – they should NOT be included in your weekly trash collection.

Costs

LED bulbs may be a bit more expensive, but prices continue to go down. And LED bulbs can last 10 years or longer – an excellent investment.

Questions Around Electricity

There are some situations where you (or your landlord) may need to hire an electrician to complete parts of the LED bulb replacement in your home:

• If a dimmer switch or timer switch needs to be replaced to an LED compatible device
• Where it may be better to replace a light fixture with a new LED model, such as a linear fluorescent strip or circline light fixtures

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

If you schedule a no-cost home energy assessment from MassSave, you can often get free LED replacement bulbs. MassSave home energy assessments are available for homeowners, condo owners, renters, and landlords.

Would you love your home to feel comfortably warm in the cold winter months and comfortably cool in the heat of the summer? The good news is that renters, condo-owners, homeowners and landlords can all take steps to make sure their home is not losing heat or cooling unnecessarily by sealing cracks and adding insulation. The best news is that the Mass Save program can help with this weatherization work at little or no cost to you.

What Is Weatherization?

Weatherizing a home consists of two steps: insulation and air sealing. Building experts usually advise you to do as much weatherization as is feasible before doing other energy-saving work.

Insulation: Adding insulation to a house is like wearing a sweater or adding an extra blanket on the bed. Insulating the exterior walls and roof will reduce overall heat loss, which means less demand for heating, and lower heating costs. Good insulation also makes a home more comfortable with fewer locations that feel cold or drafty. An added bonus: insulation will often make your house quieter!

Air sealing: You can think of air sealing like wearing a windbreaker over your sweater. Most homes are not airtight – they’re full of small gaps and cracks that let air move into and out of the home. This air leakage leads to a lot of wasted energy and wasted money. Air sealing plugs cracks around doors, windows, plumbing pipes and electrical conduits that allow air to leak out through gaps. In older homes, it can also involve sealing the spaces where the basement foundation walls meet the first floor framing.

How Can It Help the Climate?

Experts will tell you that the cleanest energy is the energy you don’t use. Weatherizing your home is one of the best ways for you to save energy, reduce your climate-damaging emissions, lower your heating and cooling bills and make your home more comfortable. A win-win-win.

What’s Involved in Weatherization?

Mass Save is the Commonwealth’s utility-sponsored program to provide energy efficiency resources to electric and gas customers. The program is funded by very small fees on monthly utility bills across the state. Mass Save provides no-cost home energy assessments to all utility customers living in 1- to 4-unit homes, whether renters, condo-owners, home-owners or landlords. Mass Save also has commercial programs designed for larger buildings. The Mass Save home energy specialist will review your current appliances, equipment and energy use, outline useful and cost-effective energy improvements, help you develop a plan to make your home more efficient, and inform you about rebates and incentives you may qualify for.

Here’s some of what you’ll receive from your assessment:

• A customized energy report tailored specifically to your home and emailed to you.
• No-cost energy-saving products recommended during your assessment delivered to your door which may include:
  • ENERGY STAR® certified LED bulbs
  • Advanced power strips
  • Low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators
  • Efficient thermostats
• Up to 75% or more off approved insulation improvements
• No-cost targeted air sealing

Mass Save can also provide a list of eligible contractors so that you can get competitive pricing for any of the work you plan to do. The incentives for weatherization make the cost of this work heavily discounted and sometimes totally free.

If you are interested in making energy efficiency and comfort improvements to your home, the Mass Save Assessment is definitely the place to start – and is often a requirement for some of the available rebates, incentives and no-interest loans. And the good news – the energy assessment is free! To schedule a no-cost Home Energy Assessment, start by calling 866-527-SAVE, or go to the Mass Save website to learn more.

Other Considerations

Older homes may still have old wiring, called “knob and tube wiring.” A licensed electrician must check throughout your home and then certify that any remaining knob and tube wiring is completely inactive before air sealing or insulation can be carried out. Mass Save often will cover the cost of this assessment as part of a weatherization improvement project.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

You can access generous Mass Save rebates and incentives to make recommended long-term energy-saving upgrades to your home, including 0% financing and 75% or more off approved insulation. With the Mass Save incentives, recommended air sealing is usually at no cost; insulation can be free or in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the size of your home.

In addition, discounts and tax credits are becoming available in 2023 as a result of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with plans to offer an upfront discount of up to $1,600 for income-qualified residents, and a 30% tax credit for weatherization projects, capped per year at the following amounts:

• Insulation and air sealing: $1,200
• Doors: $250 per door, $500 total
• Windows: $600
• Energy audits: $150
• The credit resets each tax year, effectively becoming available again for additional projects.

A no-cost Mass Save assessment is often required to access MassSave rebates and incentives; the assessment is helpful but not required to access Federal rebates and incentives.

A good resource for information on the new IRA rebates is Rewiring America, where they provide IRA fact sheets and a savings calculator. Another good resource is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which includes a table on available incentives from both our state and the federal government.

Gas stoves appeal to many of us for the instant control we have over the open flame on the cooktop. But as the world gets a fuller understanding of potential health and climate impacts tied to gas stoves, we need to think about moving to a more efficient way of cooking.

The Boston Globe reported on a study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that researched the association of indoor gas stove use and an increased risk of asthma among children. The study concluded that, “12.7% of childhood asthma nationwide is attributed to gas stove use, similar to childhood asthma burden attributed to secondhand smoke exposure”¹ The Boston Globe published an article on a study regarding gas stoves and childhood asthma.

¹ Citation: Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 75.

What Is Induction Cooking?

Induction cooking can be provided by a portable cook plate, a built-in cooktop, or the cooking surface of a full-size range. Induction cooking creates heat much more efficiently and cleanly than standard radiant electric or gas cooking.

Here’s how induction technology works: An electric current is passed through a coiled copper wire underneath the cooking surface, which creates a magnetic current that runs directly to the cooking pan to produce heat. Cookware with a “ferrous” base – able to hold a magnet – can turn the magnetic energy into heat. Traditional radiant electric stoves heat up the entire cooking surface in order to heat up the pan, which is less efficient, less safe, and less comfortable.

Because heat is transferred directly to a pot or pan only, induction cooktops are cool to the touch. You can put your hand directly on the burner while it’s cooking and not get burned (though the pot will get hot!). When there’s no pan on the burner, nothing gets hot. And no one can cause a fire or explosion by leaving the burner on by mistake.

This more precise way of heating also means more powerful cooking: induction stoves can boil water up to 50% faster compared to their gas and electric counterparts. Read more about the benefits of induction stoves in this TIME article.

How Can This Help the Climate?

A study published in January 2022 by Stanford University, Climate and Health Impacts of Natural Gas Stoves, found that natural gas stoves may emit concerning levels of indoor air pollution and could play a larger role in driving climate change than previously believed. Even when they weren’t being used, gas stoves were shown to release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and other harmful pollutants – including formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide – through leaks in the stove and in the service line.

Just using one gas stove for a year emits on average 649 grams of methane – equivalent to the number of emissions released from driving 40 miles.

Will I Still Be Able to Cook Well?

The New York Times has an excellent article about just this question. Their conclusion? It may take a little time to adjust, but cooks – both professional chefs at restaurants and amateur cooks at home – have come to love the control they have and the ability to maintain even temperatures at both low and high heat with induction cooking.

What Do We Know about the Technology?

Induction cooking has been used in Europe and Asia for decades. Like other household appliances, including microwaves and computers, induction stoves emit electromagnetic waves. But the amounts are low enough to be considered safe under standards set by the governing agency, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility has concluded that the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from an induction stove are considered not harmful to humans and are overall healthier than gas cooking; however, if you have a pacemaker or other implanted device, you should consult with your physician.

Questions Around Electricity

Many induction stoves and cooktops require a 240 volt electrical circuit, although some only require 120 volts. If you’re switching from an electric range or cooktop, chances are good that you can swap in your new induction appliance by plugging it into the same outlet. If you’re switching from gas, the cost of moving to induction could be higher because you’re likely to need a new outlet and an electric line run from your home’s circuit breaker panel, as well as a plumber to cap off your old gas line. You may find that you also need to upgrade your circuit breaker panel.

Since you may need some electrical updates, a good strategy is to be proactive. You’ll need to know the requirements of the particular device you’re installing — its electrical specifications, as well as the location where it will go. Once you know these, have your electrician come over, give them your appliance specification and ask them to install a circuit that will be induction-cooktop or range-ready. For more details, read our How-To Guide #7: Electrical Service – What You Need to Know.

What Choices Are There?

• You can purchase an induction range, which includes a cooktop using induction technology as well as a regular electric oven.
• If you already have a separate electric oven, you can purchase an induction cooktop.
• You can also purchase a portable induction cook plate with either a single or double burner, and reduce or eliminate your gas cooking while you keep your gas appliance for the time being.

If you’re beginning to explore induction cooking, the Brookline Library has portable induction cooking kits to borrow, so you can “check out” the technology before making a purchase. The kits are available at the Coolidge Corner Library, the Putterham Library and the Main Library.

And check out an excellent article by Consumer Reports on induction cooking.

Other Considerations

• Many pans work on an induction stove: cast iron, ceramic clad, enameled, and stainless steel. They all must contain iron, a magnetic metal. To learn if your pan will work, just put a refrigerator magnet on the bottom. If the magnet sticks, the pan will work.
• Induction stoves use 30 to 50% less energy and release fewer emissions than gas stoves.
• A gas or regular electric stove heats the air as well as the pot, making you swelter. Induction stoves only heat the pot and the food.
• An induction stovetop is smooth and easy to wipe clean. With no burners, nothing gets burned onto the surface.
• From frying at 375° to warming chocolate sauce at 110°, induction controls temperature with greater precision than gas.

Costs

Installation: Induction ranges and cooktops can range in costs. In Consumer Reports ratings from 2022, 30-inch electric ranges start at $600 and gas models start at around $500, while 30-inch induction ranges start at $1,160. Industry experts agree that, as demand increases, prices will fall. This price differential does not reflect rebates and tax credits that are available.

Operation:  According to the Mass Clean Energy Center, the cost to operate an induction cooktop for the average family will be about $50 per year.

You can find more details about induction cooking at the Mass Clean Energy Center website.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

Currently, Mass Save offers a rebate of $500 for a new induction stove after verification through a Home Energy Assessment. Read about how to get the verification you will need at Mass Save.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1: A One-Burner Cook Plate for a Small Household

A Brookline neighbor who’s been in the same house since 1970 was a long-time fan of cooking with gas. She’d always disliked electric stoves, feeling that she couldn’t cook well on them. When she remodeled her kitchen about four years ago, she saw no reason to replace the new gas stove she’d purchased only a few years earlier.

However, through Mothers Out Front (MOF), she became aware of the potential health issues around gas stoves, though she was a bit skeptical at first. Then she thought about her adult son whose health issues included asthma once he was an adult, and wondered whether the gas stove in their home when he was growing up might have been a contributing factor.

But more important to her was the climate impact of gas cooking that she was learning about and the need to stop fossil fuels, period. Cooking without gas was something she wanted to try and she began doing some research on induction cooking following MOF presentations on the subject. Two opportunities helped her make her decision. First, she had a neighbor active in MOF who had replaced their gas stove with an induction range. It made a difference to see what someone had already done and to be able to ask questions. Second, she took advantage of the Brookline Library’s option to borrow an induction cook plate and pans. For two weeks, she cooked everything she could on that cook plate – all her favorite soups, casseroles, and other foods. The ability to test it out made all the difference. She could cook well on it.

She learned that purchasing a single burner induction cook plate was affordable for her and the same MOF neighbor recommended a brand, so she wasn’t starting from scratch. She also looked at a double burner cook plate, but counter space was an issue and she realized that without a big family at home she didn’t really need that second burner.

She purchased a Duxtop single burner cook plate on Amazon for around $100; some models cost even less. She could plug it directly into an existing outlet, so there was no need for any additional electrical work. She’s been very happy with it, though some of her pans were not compatible. So, she just cooks with those that are and plans to purchase one or two pans that will work.

The bottom line? For this homeowner it’s “do what you can.” She recommends that everyone give induction cooking a try and with the library lending program, it’s easy. As she says, every choice we make makes a difference; everything we do in our lives has an impact.

Story #2: Remodeling the Kitchen

This Brookline family bought an induction range as part of a kitchen remodeling project not too long ago. The brand they chose is GE Café. The price was higher than some induction models, but it works well and it looks good.

They decided to make this choice for two reasons: they needed a new range (some burners on their old range were no longer working) and they wanted to get rid of gas.

Because the family has 100% green electricity through Brookline Green Electricity, the range is entirely fossil-fuel free. If you have electricity from other sources, using an induction range won’t be entirely fossil-fuel free, but each year as our electrical grid becomes greener, induction cooking will also be a more sustainable choice.

This range was an investment in improving the family’s kitchen and the homeowner wishes there were even more options that were less expensive so that induction cooking would be accessible to more people.

You can read all the details in this homeowner’s blog about his family’s experience with induction cooking.

Story #3: Replacing a Gas Cooktop

This family’s gas cooktop was old and they were worried about the potential negative health impact of gas. They were also very concerned about the climate, and moving to an induction cooktop would be a step they could take toward reducing their emissions.

They went to Yale Appliance, but the exact Bosch model they wanted (Consumer Reports #1 model) was unavailable due to supply chain problems. Yale didn’t know when that model would be back in stock, but the upgraded version was in stock and they could get it right then. They decided they wanted to move ahead, so paid the additional cost for the upgraded version.

The installer first disconnected the existing gas cooktop from the gas piping and removed the cooktop and piping.

Their electrician had let them know that in order to install the induction cooktop they would need to add a circuit breaker with a higher amp rating in the electric panel, as well as a higher voltage outlet for the induction cooktop. The electrician performed this work before the delivery of the cooktop. The cost of the electrical work was higher than they anticipated.

Even with the added expenses, the family is very happy with their induction cooktop. It functions very well overall, there’s no noise, it has a sleek look, it heats fast. And they found that there was no learning curve in terms of cooking food on an induction cooktop.

If you’re a homeowner or landlord in Brookline, you probably have a hot water heater and it’s probably powered by gas. One of these days, you’ll need to replace it, as the average water heater lifespan is around 10-15 years. When you replace it, consider a heat pump water heater, sometimes also called a “hybrid” water heater.

What Is a Heat Pump Water Heater?

Heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) are electric appliances that provide hot water to your home. Unlike conventional gas or electric water heaters, they do not create heat, but rather they move heat from the air around the water heater into the water – like your refrigerator or air conditioner operating in reverse. HPWHs are extremely efficient, with lower operating costs than gas or electric water heaters.

How Can This Help the Climate?

In the average home in Massachusetts, gas hot water heaters are the second biggest contributor to household carbon emissions. HPWHs produce lower emissions on today’s electric grid than a gas hot water heater, and with today’s grid getting greener over time, emissions will decrease as time goes on.

What’s Involved?

If your hot water heater is nearing the end of its life (10+ years old), you should plan ahead for its replacement. HPWHs need:

• 240 volt, 30 amp or 15 amp electrical circuit for most models (future models may run on standard 120 volts).
• Clearance both above and around the water heater to provide sufficient air space. HPWHs need to be located in a room, not in a closet.
• A drain or other location to dispose of condensate (i.e. water).

For most of us in the Northeast, installing a heat pump water heater in the basement is ideal. That’s probably where your current hot water heater is now, and it’s usually best to put a replacement in that same position. Just be sure there is enough clearance as specified in the installation manual as HPWHs tend to be taller than what you may have now.

Plan for replacing your water heater before you are in an emergency situation with no hot water or a puddle of water leaking onto the basement floor. Research sizes and brands of HPWHs, know what electrical upgrades may be needed, and verify that you have adequate space and clearances – this will help speed up the installation of a new HPWH.

What Choices Are There?

Manufacturers include AOSmith, Bradford, Rheem, and State. Heat pump water heaters come in various sizes, typically 40-, 50-, 65-, and 80-gallon tanks. Something to consider is getting the largest tank you can – that way, should anything happen to interrupt the ability to heat the water, you will have a larger reservoir of already heated water to carry you through until repairs can be made. In addition, a larger tank will enable the unit to operate at maximum efficiency.

You can find reviews of various heat pump water heaters here:

• Carbon Switch
• Consumer Reports
• ENERGY STAR

Other Considerations

• One benefit of a heat pump water heater in your basement is that it helps to dehumidify air, but it can also make that space a bit colder. The HPWH will cool the air around it by 5-10 degrees F, and for this reason is usually placed in an area such as a basement where this isn’t a problem.
• Heat pump water heaters can be noisy, so take care on where they are installed. Having them near a bedroom, for instance, can be a noise issue. When operating, they can be about as loud as a dishwasher running.
• Many can be controlled from a smartphone.
• Most units have an automatic leak detector. The best units can detect leaks anywhere in your home and help prevent water damage.
• The only additional maintenance needed beyond a regular water heater is that you will need to periodically remove and wash the air filter with water and a mild detergent.
• The heater will produce condensation while operating and this must be drained. If there is no floor drain nearby, an additional condensate pump will have to be installed.
• Most of today’s HPWHs are hybrid models, as they have a conventional electrical heating method in addition to the heat pump technology that is used to heat the water. This can provide extra heat when needed.

Costs

Installation Costs: An HPWH unit and its installation may cost you more than a similar size gas or electric water heater and may also require electrical work; however, the price differential may be offset with available rebates and tax credits.

Operating Costs: HPWHs are extremely efficient with operating costs that can be up to 50% lower than the operating costs of an electric, oil, or propane water heater. Heat pump water heaters are robust, and can last much longer than conventional water heaters, according to an article from the Mass Clean Energy Center. A HPWH may cost more to install, but since it is 3 to 4 times more efficient, the savings in electricity will pay for the added cost in a few years.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

The sponsors of Mass Save currently offer instant savings of $750 off the list price of a HPWH for residential customers who have a licensed plumber install a qualified heat pump water heater. Check the Mass Save website for up-to-date information.

The newly passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) also includes rebates of up to $1,750 for heat pump water heaters, which will become available sometime in 2023-24. There may also be Federal tax credits. As these tax credits are constantly evolving, be sure to verify the latest information at Rewiring America.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1: A Gas Water Heater Approaching End of Life

The existing hot water tank in this three-story Victorian had developed a crack and needed to be replaced. As someone who was very climate-focused, the owner wanted to replace it with the most climate-friendly option he could and focused on obtaining a heat pump water heater.

The owner had 200 amp service and did not need electrical upgrades. He found an installer he trusted and selected a Rheem HPWH with an 80-gallon tank. With their previous 50 gallon natural gas water heater the owner would occasionally run out of hot water. That never happens now, even when they have visitors.

Story #2: Electrifying the Home Meant Replacing the Water Heater Too

The owner bought his current home about four years ago. At that time, everything – the heating system, the hot water heater, the clothes dryer – was powered with gas. His long-term goal was to electrify everything, and he’s actually completed that work – the gas service to his home has been completely turned off.

For his water heater, the owner chose the SANCO₂ system (formerly called SANDEN), manufactured by a Japanese company. He purchased the system from 475 High Performance Building Supply, from Brooklyn, NY.

In this installation, the condenser is installed outside the house, while the tank itself is in the basement. The cost of the unit was about $5,500 – more expensive than alternatives – but its greater efficiency and its use of CO₂ as the refrigerant (CO₂ has a lower global warming potential than other refrigerants) made the option appealing.

The “split” design of the SANCO₂ HPWH is a feature that enhances the performance of the system. Traditional, integrated HPWHs, in which the compressor and the tank are co-located, draw heat from the interior of the building and therefore cool the interior year-round. The SANCO₂ uses outside air instead, and the outdoor compressor can be as far as 50 feet from the interior tank. The homeowner has made several other related changes, including a system for returning warm water to the system as well as a backup electric option.

For most of us, having a washer and a dryer is a necessity – we’re used to throwing our dirty laundry into the washing machine and then into the dryer, closing the door, and starting it up.

But your dryer is a significant contributor to emissions. Current technology is part of the problem. Most dryers in the United States draw in air, heat it and use it to evaporate water from the clothes, then vent it outside. Dr. Kyle R. Gluesenkamp, a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, quoted in an article in the New York Times, compared that with boiling off water on the stove. It takes a lot of time and a lot of energy.

The most energy-efficient drying method – air drying on a rack or clothesline either inside or outside – requires zero electricity or gas and could save millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. But this option is not always possible – maybe you need things to dry more quickly, or you just don’t have the space.

This How-To Guide, while it strongly recommends air drying as the preferred option, will focus on the next best option – a heat pump dryer.

What are Heat Pump Dryers?

A heat pump dryer is a “closed loop” system – similar to a heat pump water heater, or an air conditioner or refrigerator running in reverse – that uses a condenser to heat the air, remove moisture from the clothes and then reuses the air once the moisture is removed. It does not release warm, humid air through a dryer vent to the exterior of the home as a conventional dryer does, so it doesn’t require a vent. But it does need to drain the water condensation. Either a hose is run from the dryer to a drain, or a removable tank collects water for up to two cycles before it needs to be emptied.

Because these dryers don’t require vents, they tend to be common in Europe, where you can’t always punch a hole in the wall of your pre-20th century building, and they help to significantly lower household energy use in Europe as compared with the US. This excellent video explains how heat pump technology works.

How Can Heat Pump Dryers Help the Climate?

In most households, the largest source of energy use and climate emissions is from the heating system and water heating. But appliances can also be a significant source of emissions, and the clothes dryer is the third-most energy-hungry appliance, after the refrigerator and washing machine. According to ENERGY STAR, which tests and certifies energy-efficient appliances, heat pump dryers use significantly less energy than other dryers, whether electric or gas. Green America has a great article on “5 Reasons to Ditch Your Dryer.”

Questions About Electricity

Most heat pump dryers will require a 240 volt electrical circuit, although a few will work on 120 volts. Because you may need to make some electrical changes, being proactive can be a good strategy – contact your electrician or installer before you are ready to make the switch. You’ll need to provide the specifications of the particular appliance model you intend to install, and have your licensed electrician verify your panel capacity and install the appropriate circuit. You can learn more in our How-To Guide #7 – Electrical Service: What You Need to Know.

What Choices Are There?

Heat pump dryers come in two sizes: standard (about 27” wide) and compact (about 24” wide). You can choose a dryer that uses a heat pump only, or a hybrid dryer that will use electric heat should you need your laundry to dry more quickly. Another option is installing a typical electric clothes dryer – these do not run as efficiently as heat pump clothes dryers, but they have the same benefit of running without gas.

The ENERGY STAR website has a product guide that will help you find products that they have rated.

Other Considerations

• Heat pump dryers typically take longer to dry clothes than vented dryers. According to ENERGY STAR, though, some newer models have short dry cycles (under 50 minutes).
• Heat pump dryers are more expensive than vented dryers, but more rebates are becoming available.
• For a heat pump dryer to function correctly, it needs to be in a ventilated space. For this reason, the dryer will not be able to function correctly if it is in a spot like a closet as it will end up reabsorbing the warm air it just expelled.
• Some heat pump dryers are stackable and/or can be paired with a washer. Whatever kind of machine you use for drying, the best thing you can do to reduce energy consumption is take full advantage of the high-speed spin cycle on your washing machine. That means less water needs to be evaporated.
• Heat pump dryers are gentler on your clothes. The lint you find in your dryer is evidence of your clothes literally wearing away. Because heat pump dryers use less heat, they cause less damage to your clothes and generate less lint.

The ENERGY STAR website has good information on heat pump dryers as well as tips to get the most out of them.

Costs

A heat pump dryer and its installation may cost you more than a similar size gas or electric dryer and may also require electrical work; however, the price differential may be offset with available rebates and tax credits. A search of Home Depot‘s website in June 2023 showed a Samsung heat pump dryer on sale for just under $1,000.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

The new federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains many rebates, including for heat pump dryers; Mass Save also offers a rebate. As these are constantly evolving, be sure to verify the latest information.

Another good resource is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which includes a table on state and federal available incentives.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1: A Heat Pump Dryer Was the Last Step to be Fossil Fuel Free

After moving to Brookline’s Pill Hill neighborhood several years ago, this homeowner’s family decided to undertake a major project that was spurred on by their desire to reconfigure and upgrade their basement. They had never considered electrifying their home, or knew that was desirable or even possible, until the homeowner joined Mothers Out Front (MOF) Brookline and began attending their meetings. There she learned both about the health impacts and the climate impacts of the gas heating and gas appliances in their home and wanted to work toward eliminating gas in the house.

So when it was time to upgrade the basement, they began doing a lot of research and the family decided to completely electrify the systems and appliances housed there, including the whole house heating, the water heater and the clothes dryer. Even though their existing gas dryer was working fine, they felt it didn’t make sense to keep any gas appliances.

When deciding on the right clothes dryer, they selected a heat pump dryer rather than a conventional electric dryer for two reasons: first, the heat pump dryer would use less electricity and second, it wouldn’t require a vent, so there would be more flexibility as to where it could be located.

They chose a full-size heat pump dryer, mainly because they wanted to be able to do a full-size dryer load that would match the size of the loads that could be handled by their washing machine. The only full-size heat pump dryer available at that time was made by Whirlpool and that’s what they purchased. Other heat pump dryers have a smaller capacity – about 4 cubic feet for a compact dryer compared to about 7 cubic feet for a full-size dryer.

The new dryer has been installed and is working well. The homeowner has observed a few things:

• The new dryer doesn’t make a lot of lint and there seems to be less damage to the clothing. The clothes actually feel like they’re better quality and less worn down than they’d been with the old gas dryer. Even delicate items come out well.
• There are two lint screens that need to be cleaned – the regular screen in the front door of the dryer and a second one of finer material that leads to the heat exchange equipment.
• The dryer isn’t noisy, and it doesn’t make the surrounding space hotter or colder so it could be located in any room in the house and wouldn’t affect the temperature.
• The home already had 200 amp electrical service, but they did need to add a circuit breaker for a 240 volt line for the dryer.
• The heat pump dryer takes a longer time to dry clothes – around 1 hour 45 minutes.

This home now has no gas piping! The work that was done occurred during 2023 and the homeowner will be eligible for both Mass Save rebates and federal tax credits.

Having a home that’s comfortably warm in the cold months and comfortably cool in the heat of the summer is undoubtedly a top priority for many. Do you have some rooms that just don’t get warm enough in winter? Do you use noisy window air conditioners and still swelter in the summer?

If your current heating system is nearing the end of its life, if you’re thinking about installing central AC, or if you just want a few rooms to have better heating or cooling, it’s time to consider air-source heat pump technology.

What are Air Source Heat Pumps?

Heat pumps move heat into and out of a building – much like an air conditioner or a refrigerator that can also run backwards to provide heating. When the weather is hot, they pump heat from the inside to the outside to cool things off. When it’s cold outside, they pump heat from the outside to the inside to warm your living space. Even when it’s really super cold, there’s still heat that can be pulled from the outside air to warm your rooms.

Heat pumps don’t create heat – they move heat. Since it takes far less energy to move heat than it does to create heat, heat pumps are one of the most efficient home heating and cooling systems available. Air source heat pump technology can be installed in many different ways: you can do your whole house, or just a floor, or just a room or two; you can install a system providing heating and cooling through air ducts, or one that delivers heating and cooling through wall or floor-mounted units, or a combination of approaches. Installing heat pumps not only makes your home comfortable, but it will help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and reduce your dependence on fossil fuels – a win-win-win for improving the climate and improving your home comfort.

“A heat pump is probably the biggest thing that consumers can do to help fight the climate crisis,” said Amy Boyd, director of policy for the Acadia Center, a regional research and advocacy organization focusing on clean-energy policy in the Northeast.

How Can Heat Pumps Help the Climate?

Emissions from residential buildings in Massachusetts come from a variety of sources, as shown in this graph of Household Energy Usage in our state. The emissions from your home can be hard to see, but the biggest source by far is the furnace or the boiler that provides your home heating.

Air source heat pumps are all-electric and highly efficient – and they create ZERO space heating or cooling emissions if you sign up for 100% Green Electricity.

What’s Involved?

Air-source heat pump systems (ASHPs) feature an outdoor condenser unit connected to one or more indoor units by refrigerant piping. The refrigerant is a substance with properties that enable it to easily absorb and release heat.

A heat pump installation can be a straightforward process with minimal disruption to your home. A simple, single-zone ductless ASHP system can be completed in less than a day and only requires a single 2-3 inch hole to be cut (and later, sealed) in your home’s exterior wall.

If you are installing a “multi-zone” ductless system or a ducted system that requires modifications to existing ductwork or brand new ductwork, your installation may take a few days or more to complete.

Outdoor condenser units come in different sizes depending on the heating load required. Your contractor or installer should collect data on the number and size of the rooms, size and type of windows, exterior wall and roof insulation, etc in order to determine the heat load of each space in your home and the required unit size that will meet the need. Oversized and undersized systems will not function well or work most efficiently, so proper sizing is an important step. If you’d like to know more about Manual J Load Calculations and how they work, consult indeed.com.

Outdoor units should be mounted on metal stands that are at 12”, 18” or 24” high to ensure they will be above snow, and located to minimize snow build-up from drifting during storms or from sliding off of roofs above. Outdoor units can also be wall-mounted where ground space is limited, but may lead to noise or vibrations transmitted inside the building walls. 

Note: Exterior equipment may also require Preservation and/or Zoning approval.

What Choices Are There?

Heat pumps are a flexible technology that can be installed in homes of all shapes and sizes with different needs – whether you need a whole-home system, have (or don’t have) ductwork, want to add zoning to your home, want to increase the efficiency of heating in part of your home, or want to add extra heating/cooling to that part of your home that’s never as comfortable as it should be. Air source heat pumps can be “ductless” or “ducted” or use a combination of the two types of systems.

Ductless heat pumps are exactly as they sound: heat pumps that don’t require that you have ductwork in your home. They require one or more outdoor condenser units connected to one (single-zone) or more (multi-zone) indoor units to distribute the heating or cooling. The closed-loop refrigerant running to and from the outdoor unit is connected to the indoor units via piping that runs inside or outside your home. These systems are often referred to as ductless mini-splits or just mini-splits.

Ductless indoor units can be wall-mounted, on the floor or in your ceiling. Wall units, which are typically mounted near the top of a room’s wall, are the most common option; floor-mounted units can often replace the location of old radiators.

Ductless air source heat pumps can be installed as a home’s primary source of heating and cooling, or installed to heat and cool specific areas or specific rooms. Because each indoor unit can be controlled individually, you can reduce your energy use even more by lowering the heating setpoint in rooms that are not being used.

Ducted (or centralized) heat pumps have an outdoor condenser unit with a refrigerant piping loop that is connected to an indoor air handling unit that distributes heating or cooling air via a building’s existing or new ductwork. Sometimes these systems are called “ducted mini-splits”, as they require indoor and outdoor equipment in addition to the ducts. Ducted heat pump systems will typically have air vents with grilles located at the floor, wall or ceiling in each room.

Ducted heat pumps may be able to use your home’s existing ductwork if you have a forced hot air heating system or a centralized AC system, but sometimes the existing ductwork may not be the correct size, or may be inadequately insulated or sealed. An installer can tell you if your current ductwork can be re-used and what modifications may be necessary. Ducted systems can be more flexible in their design, and sized to deliver the correct amount of air to each separate room.

When you’re buying something as expensive and long-lasting as a heat pump, you should make sure the equipment is from a manufacturer that has a good reputation and can provide you with quality customer support for years to come.

More often than not, your contractor or installer will be the one sourcing the heat pump system components. There may be some models that have better energy efficiency, or better equipment distributors in certain geographic regions. Generally speaking, it’s better to find a good contractor first and then take advantage of their expertise with the brands and models that they’re familiar with.

Some resources for finding products:

• Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) provides a cold climate air source heat pump list 
• Energy Star’s product finder

Other Considerations

• Concerned about heat pump performance in winter? Today’s cold climate air source heat pumps can extract heat from the air all the way down to at least -13°F, but you’ll want to make sure the system you have is sized appropriately for your home. To find air-source heat pumps that are certified as cold climate heat pumps, look at NEEP’s Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump List.
• Before you start a heat pump project, schedule a no-cost Mass Save Home Energy Assessment; understanding the assessment and completing the weatherization recommendations is required for eligibility for some of the Mass Save rebates.
• If you are planning on accessing rebates, incentives and tax credits from Mass Save or the IRS, be sure to review the program details to verify that the heat pump products specified will meet the minimum program requirements.
• If your home is in a designated Local Historic District (LHD) in Brookline be sure to understand the specific restrictions on locating exterior equipment, piping and electrical lines. The guidelines require that, when possible, renewable energy systems should be proposed for installation in locations where they will not be visible from a public way, park or body of water. In cases where this is not practicable, systems attached to buildings should not obscure historic features from public view, or be visible in a way which significantly alters the profile or character of the building.
• Advanced heat pumps are “variable capacity,” which means they can provide just the right amount of heating or cooling without temperature swings and constantly turning on and off. The typical lifespan of a heat pump is the same as a conventional furnace or central air conditioner. Annual system maintenance consists of cleaning air filters (which you can clean yourself) and an optional annual maintenance checkup for the outside unit. The cost is about the same as annual servicing charges for a boiler or furnace.
• In addition to providing heating and cooling, heat pumps filter and dehumidify air, which can improve the air quality and comfort of your home. In particular, the filtration provided can significantly reduce allergens in your home for sensitive individuals.
• Outdoor units should not be installed right next to a dryer vent or directly below where you typically have ice dams that form on your roof, as falling ice can cause damage. The units require sufficient space above and around to allow for air to circulate, but in some cases may be able to be hidden under a high porch, or encircled by bushes and shrubs.
• Air-source heat pumps allow you to reclaim your windows and avoid having to install window A/C units each summer.

Note: In addition to air-source heat pumps, there are also ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) that use the relatively constant temperature of the earth well below grade to heat or cool the refrigerant loops. These systems require drilling of deep wells or sufficient outdoor space to bury a system of horizontal loops; GSHP systems tend to be more expensive to install than air-source heat pumps, but can cost less to operate.

Costs

Installation Costs: Air-source heat pump systems typically start at several thousand dollars before incentives for a single-zone unit, increasing with additional zones. Pricing is higher if you are installing a whole-house heat pump as the primary heating/cooling system for the home, and systems will likely be more costly as square footage, number of rooms in the home and complexities like installation of ductwork increase.

Green Energy Consumers Alliance estimates that the average whole home heat pump system in our region is running around $15,000 – $25,000, but the cost depends on what percentage of your heating the heat pump will provide, how large your home is, and how well-insulated it is. A heat pump for a relatively small, well insulated house might cost only $6,000, but a larger, under-insulated home might cost $45,000.

Note that 200 amp electrical service may be needed for heat pump installation. Upgrading to 200 amp service if you do not currently have it could be an additional cost.

Operating Costs: If you have radiant electric heating or use electric space heaters, heat pumps are 2-4 times more efficient and can save you thousands of kWh, and hundreds of dollars, every year. If you have gas or oil heating, the cost difference between burning fossil fuels and using an air source heat pump will depend on a number of variables, including the price of gas, the price of electricity, and whether you have rooftop solar or another means of generating electricity.

The seasonal efficiency of ASHPs can range from 220% to 300%+ depending on the system type, application, and how cold it is outside. That means that for every one unit of electricity used, 2.2 to 3 units of heat are transferred into the home. By comparison, many fossil fuel boilers and furnaces are 80% efficient, with even the most efficient models never more than 98% efficient.

Questions Around Electricity

If you have 100-amp electrical service you may need an upgrade, depending on the size and type of heat pump you’re installing and what electric appliances you currently have. If your electrical service is sufficient but your circuit breakers are full, you may need to add a subpanel to make room for new circuit breakers for the heat pump.

Ask your electrician to assess the current state of your electrical service and make recommendations regarding whether an upgrade might be needed for the heat pump solution that meets your needs. The cost of electrical work may range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on whether you need to upgrade your breaker box or the electrical service to your home.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

State rebates from Mass Save of up to $10,000 are available for partial systems, where a heat pump is combined with a fossil fuel primary heating system. A rebate of $10,000 for whole house systems is available regardless of system size – if you have a small home or condo, or if you are a landlord upgrading individual rental units, this rebate for each dwelling unit can cover a good part of the installation costs.

Federal monies through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provide a 30 percent tax credit for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, capped at $2,000 per year. The credit resets each tax year, effectively becoming available again for additional projects. This tax credit is available now! The new IRA will also provide a tax credit of up to $600 for electrical upgrades if done in conjunction with installing heat pumps or a heat pump water heater.

Another good resource is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which includes a table on available incentives from both our state and the federal government.

There is also good information on the energy.gov website.

Need Some Advice?

Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA), a Massachusetts-based non-profit, has excellent resources to help you understand and learn about air source heat pumps.

• Get Advice on heat pumps.
• Sign up for GECA’s heat pump referral list and other services from Abode. Abode, an energy management company based in Concord, MA, has made an alliance with Green Energy Consumers Alliance and provides a service to review and compare up to three proposals for heat pumps for installers. If you access Abode from the GECA website, this service is offered at half price.  
• Watch a one-hour webinar recorded on YouTube discussing heat pumps.

The Town of Brookline is including the link to Abode for informational purposes only. It has no association with Abode and makes no claims, representation, endorsement or warranty (express or implied) about the quality of the services it provides.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a state agency focused on the clean energy sector, has good information about heat pumps.

There is an excellent article from NYTimes’ Wirecutter on heat pumps.

Rewiring America provides an excellent guide “Go Electric”.

And finally, here’s an article from Will Brownsberger, State Senator from Belmont on his experience installing heat pumps and getting rid of gas service to his home.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1: An Early Adopter of Mini-Splits

Owners of a single-family home purchased in 1993 in North Brookline cared deeply about the environment and wanted their house to be as energy efficient as possible. Their motivation to install mini-split air source heat pumps was two-fold: they hated the window air conditioners they had, and they wanted to make their house environmentally friendly. About those air conditioners: there were window units in each of their four bedrooms and one in the living room. The homeowners really didn’t like the noise, they didn’t like the quality of the air, and they didn’t like how much electricity it was costing them. It had to be a really uncomfortable night before they would turn any of them on.

The mini-splits have solved this problem completely – the cool air they produce in warm weather is fantastic. They’re not noisy, they’re incredibly efficient and the electricity bill is way, way down over the summer months.

What about heating? The mini-splits help with that too. The homeowners installed them a little over ten years ago, when there was concern that the system might not be able to provide enough heat in the extremely cold weather.* So they kept their old boiler and radiators as a backup system, setting the thermostat at 58^o, and they continue to use a gas hot water heater. At the time of the installation, they were able to finance the project with a 0% loan.

Now they’re able to target room by room what gets heated above that. They have three mini-splits on their first floor – one each in the living room, dining room, and kitchen – and four mini-splits on the second floor – one in each of the four bedrooms – with two external condensers to drive the units. Their kids are grown and out of the house, so some rooms are rarely used and don’t need to be as warm as the rooms that are used more regularly.

The system is reliable and easy to maintain. It’s simple to remove the filters, rinse them in water, and then slip them back in.

*According to a Consumer Reports article from August 2022: “But that’s old news. When properly installed, plenty of today’s air-source heat pumps…can keep your home toasty even amid bone-chilling cold, using far less energy than other types of heating systems.”

Story #2: A Combination of Ducted and Ductless Heat Pumps

These homeowners bought their house in the Brookline Village area in 1993. It’s about 1,500 square feet total on the 1st and 2nd floors, with about 400 square feet additional in the partially finished basement. 

Around 2010 the family started looking into the support that Mass Save provides for home energy assessments and improvements. Whatever energy efficiency rebates and incentives Mass Save offered, the homeowners wanted to access. They insulated their walls and their attic using Mass Save rebates and when they replaced their old boiler with a high energy efficiency model, they also received Mass Save rebates. 

They kept going, installing new insulated windows and putting solar panels on their roof in 2017, accessing additional state and federal incentives and tax credits. 

For cooling in the hot days of summer, they were using one window air conditioner on the ground floor and several more window air conditioners in the 2nd floor bedrooms. The window units were noisy, they were hard to put in and out of the windows, they did not cool the whole house, and they were not energy efficient. So when they started learning about heat pumps for heating and cooling, it seemed a logical step to explore, especially given the inadequate window air conditioners. 

They started getting quotes in summer 2021, and ended up with quotes from four installers. The prices ranged from $30,000 to $50,000 for the whole home system. They found the installers by looking at the MassSave list of approved installers, but probably more importantly, they received recommendations from their neighbors. By speaking with several installers, the homeowners learned quite a bit and were able to go back and forth between installers to discuss various options. They decided to go with an installer who’d been referred to them both from a contractor in the neighborhood and an architect-neighbor. 

The homeowners decided on a two-system installation: a ducted system for the second floor with the air handler and insulated ductwork in the attic, along with ductless mini-splits for the first floor and finished part of the basement. Since they were doing a whole-home system, they applied for the Mass Save rebate of $10,000, significantly reducing the net cost of installation. They decided to keep their existing boiler and radiators as an emergency back-up – they set those thermostats at 50 degrees, which complies with the Mass Save program requirements for the whole home rebate. Their gas bills are now minimal, covering just the account connection fee and the gas use for the indirect water heater only. 

The ducted system in the attic feeds vents and returns in each of the second floor bedrooms. Two mini-splits on the first floor make all the first-floor rooms comfortable. The mini-split in the basement has made the finished part of the basement comfortable all year round and can now be used for guest sleeping during the hot, muggy summer. There are two exterior condensers – one for the attic ducted system for the 2nd floor and the other for the 1st floor and basement mini-splits. Each outdoor condenser has a “cap” – an off-the shelf product that attaches to the stand to prevent damage in case snow or ice falls from the roof. 

Some observations from the homeowner: 

• It was extremely helpful to talk with the four contractors and get their ideas and their quotes. It takes time, but the investment in both time and money has been more than worth it in terms of comfort, reliability and confidence. 
• It can be tricky to size the system – the general advice is not to get more capacity than you need as these systems aren’t as efficient if they’re oversized. 
• You can do this work incrementally. The homeowners could have done just the ducted system first, for example, and waited to do mini-splits later. Or they could have installed one or more mini-splits to start. The technology affords lots of options. 
• The system is so efficient and so quiet that the homeowners say they don’t even know it’s running. 
• It’s a two-fer – heating AND cooling. With our summers predicted to get warmer and warmer, and with more people working at home, the cooling for hot days becomes increasingly important. They can now use their whole house throughout the year; before, parts of the house had been too hot to use comfortably all summer. 
• The homeowners are now installing a whole house heat pump system in a second house on the Cape to replace a conventional AC system past its useful life. They found that using the home’s existing ductwork will reduce the cost. Also, they will have just one single system to maintain for heating and cooling, and will not have to separately update a boiler for heat and an AC condenser for cooling.

If you want to electrify your residence – either completely or partially – you may have questions about the electricity needed to support your transition off of fossil fuels. What electrical work will be required for any changes you plan to make? Does your home have enough service from the wires in the street, or will you need a service upgrade?  Is your electrical panel adequately sized and with enough room for additional circuit breakers? If you are a renter or condo owner or landlord, who controls the electrical service?

Some Background

Your home gets its electrical service from the utility wires in the street, connecting to your electric meter and distributed through your home’s electrical panel to all of the appliances and receptacles (outlets) in your home.

Electric Meter: Your electric meter continually measures the electricity your home consumes (in kilowatt-hours or kWh) and allows your utility company to bill you for the electricity you use.

Electrical Panel Sometimes called a breaker box, a breaker panel or a circuit panel, your electrical panel is responsible for safely distributing electricity from your utility’s power lines into branches of wiring inside your home.

Circuit Breaker An electrical safety device, housed in an electrical panel, designed to prevent a branch of electrical wiring from excessive demand and overheating, which could lead to a fire.  Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset (either manually or automatically) to resume normal operation.

You can think of the electricity coming into your home similar to plumbing. The incoming flow rate of that electricity is measured in amps and the pressure to the outlets in your walls is measured in volts.

Amp Short for “ampere”, a unit for measuring the flow rate of electricity. Older homes might have electrical panels that can handle 60 or 100 amps, while newer homes may have 200 amps or higher.

Voltage In most US homes, the common electrical outlet is 110/120 volts. When you have more powerful appliances, such as an electrical stove, the demand on your electrical system is higher and you likely need 220/240 volts.

Do You Need to Upgrade Your Electrical Service?

If you are planning to have an all-electric home, 100-amp service may or may not be adequate, depending on the size of your home and the equipment installed. If your existing electrical service is only 60-amps, you’ll eventually need to upsize your electrical service to electrify everything in your home. You will also need to have your electrician check for knob and tube wiring which can be present in older homes and can be unsafe.

Upgrading to 200 amps can be a good investment if you’re thinking of going all-electric, for example, installing an electric vehicle charger, an air source heat pump (for home heating), and other new electrical appliances in the future. However, it may not be necessary if you live in a smaller home or condo and if you plan carefully about reducing your energy demand by buying EnergyStar rated appliances that use less power, and will also cost less to operate over time. Electrical work can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a relatively simple job to a few thousand dollars for a new electric panel and circuit breakers, to upwards of $10,000 to upgrade electrical service to 200 amps.

Weatherizing your home – insulating exterior walls and roof and sealing up leaky gaps at windows – can make a big difference in the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home, and it can reduce the electrical demands of your equipment. (See our How-To Guide #2: Weatherization for details and links to Mass Save programs.)

What’s Involved?

Work with your electrician to determine:

• What size electrical service does your home currently have? Will you need to upgrade to 100 amps or 200 amps?
• Does your electrical panel have available space for additional circuit breakers?
• What new electrical appliances are you planning to add? Will they overload the rated capacity of your electrical service?

Your electrician can determine the extent of electrical upgrades required, as well as the feasibility of electrifying some systems before needing a panel or service upgrade. It’s worth doing this review before any of your fossil-fueled appliances fail, so your electrical panel is ready for the installation of an electric version when that stressful moment arrives.

An excellent article that details how you and your electrician can assess the adequacy of your residence’s existing electric service is available from Green Building Advisor, called Does Your Electrical Project Require a Service Upgrade? The article references the National Electric Code (NEC 220.83) that describes the steps to determine if an existing electrical service can safely accommodate new loads.

Available Rebates and Tax Credits

While electrifying everything in your home costs money upfront – though energy efficiency improvements can save you money over time – the federal government has implemented rebates and tax credits to help defray some of the expenses, including upgrading your electrical panels.

A good resource is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which includes a table on available incentives from both our state and the federal government.

Resources

• This Old House has a two-part helpful video that shows what an electrician will do to upgrade your electric meter and panel.  The videos are on YouTube at:
  This Old House Part 1
  This Old House Part 2
• Rewiring America has an excellent guide, “Electrify Everything in Your Home” that lays out options that can help you make a plan for electrifying your residence.  
• Redwood Energy, a California company, offers a comprehensive guide to electric retrofits of homes.

As you electrify more and more of the appliances and equipment in your home, to make the biggest impact on the climate you will need to ensure that the electricity you use comes from renewable clean green energy sources like wind, solar and hydro.

What Is Renewable, Clean, Green Energy?

Renewable Energy: The US Department of Energy defines “renewable” as energy produced from sources like the sun and wind that are naturally replenished and do not run out. Non-renewable energy, in contrast, comes from finite sources that could get used up, such as fossil fuels like gas, coal and oil.

Clean Energy: Typically, the term “clean” or “green” energy is used to refer to the electricity that is generated by facilities that do not directly emit climate-damaging greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide. Though there is some overlap between the categories, “clean” energy is not always “renewable” energy. Clean green energy refers to energy resources that provide the greatest environmental benefit. Most of these, such as wind and solar, are also renewable resources. Some, such as nuclear, however, are “clean” in that they have no greenhouse gas emissions but are not renewable. 

How Can This Help the Climate?

Renewable, clean energy sources – which are available in abundance all around us – are replenished by nature and emit little to no harmful gasses or pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide into the air. Isn’t that what we all want?  

What Choices Are There?

Homeowners, renters, condo-owners and landlords who pay their own electricity bills can support renewable, clean energy by ensuring that their electricity comes from certified green sources in one or more of the following ways. Combining two or three of these approaches can achieve even greater climate impact. 

1. Participate in Brookline’s own Brookline Green Electricity (BGE) program.
2. Sign up to join a Community Shared Solar (CCS) project.
3. Purchase or lease a solar panel system installed on your building.

1. Brookline Green Electricity (BGE)

Brookline has developed a program that is an official Community Choice Aggregation program (in Brookline, it’s called “Brookline Green Electricity” or BGE for short)  whereby the Town negotiates with an electricity supplier to bulk purchase electricity for all Eversource account holders in the Town. The program was approved by the Select Board and the state’s Department of Public Utilities and has been in operation since 2017.

Some advantages of the BGE program:

• The program aims to negotiate the best terms and conditions for Brookline’s electricity users, and to leverage the Town’s bulk buying power to provide competitive rates. The program cannot guarantee prices will always be lower than Eversource, as future Eversource prices are not known.
• Rates remain fixed for the term of the contract, which currently goes through December 2027. In comparison, rates from Eversource change every six months. You can see how BGE’s rates compare to Eversource rates by visiting the program website.
• Brookline’s contract stipulates a higher percentage of Renewable Energy Certificates (MA Class I RECs) above that required by the Commonwealth, and those voluntary RECs come only from solar, wind, anaerobic digestion and low impact hydro located within New England. Brookline’s standard option, “Brookline Green”, adds voluntary renewable energy (MA Class l RECs) on top of the minimum state-mandated renewable energy requirements to total 100% renewable energy beginning in December 2024.
• The Brookline program offers an option to Opt Up to “Brookline All Green”, which adds 100% MA Class I renewable energy on top of State minimum requirements. The program also offers “Brookline Basic” as the lowest cost option, which provides only the minimum state-mandated renewable energy.

Most residential and small business customers in the Town participate in BGE. You can confirm by comparing your Eversource bill with the information on the sample bill below. Not participating? Use the online form or call our supplier, Direct Energy (866) 968-8065, to join!

2. Community Shared Solar (CSS)

There has been a lot of interest in the Community Shared Solar projects that are being marketed around Brookline and in Massachusetts in general. BGE has put together information explaining the nuances of the interaction between Community Shared Solar (scroll down) programs and Brookline Green Electricity.

Community Shared Solar (CSS) is offered by solar developers and is not affiliated with the Town. CSS aims to provide a net discount on your electricity bills. The developer operates or builds a large solar array in Massachusetts, and you subscribe to receive a share of the value of the electricity it produces. 100% of that value appears on your Eversource bill as a bill credit. The developer then sends you a separate bill to recoup a portion of that bill credit, often 85-90%. This would result in a net reduction in your total electricity spending of 10-15%.

CSS, in most instances, is approved under the Massachusetts’ SMART Program, which provides incentives for solar development in the State. Updates and additional detail can be found at Smart Tariff Generation Units.

3. Solar Panels

Installing solar panels brings the possibility of generating all the electricity you need from your own roof and even of selling some excess electricity back to the grid.  Whether solar panels will work for you depends on your location, the direction your roof faces, the amount of tree cover, and the type of roof material; in a multi-family building, you also need to consider the ownership of your roof.

The price of solar has fallen dramatically over the last decade while the efficiency has increased. In 2020, homeowners typically spend between $10,000 and $20,000 to buy a solar panel system, but it may cost you more or less depending on the size of your system, the type of equipment you install, and the company you move forward with. There are also accessible financing options for both leasing and ownership that allow you to install with no money down. And there are tax credits and rebates available from the State and Federal government.

An excellent resource for information on solar panels comes from Energy Sage. They provide information on cost, availability, different types of panels, as well as a service where you can receive and compare solar installation quotes.

Other Considerations

A reminder from the brooklinegreen.com website:  BGE is Brookline’s ONLY official electricity program! BGE is an official Town of Brookline program. There are many unaffiliated third-party electricity suppliers knocking doors and calling to recruit. Beware! These third party electricity suppliers have been found to make misleading promises of savings and clean energy, and enticing initial rates that often increase significantly after a few months resulting in paying more than they should (see Attorney General’s report). BGE will never knock on your door or call unsolicited.

Resources

Websites that can provide more information on renewable, clean, green energy include:

• brooklinegreen.com
• energysage.com
• greenenergyconsumersalliance.org
• goclean.masscec.com

More than half of Brookline’s residents rent their homes. As a renter, you have opportunities to save energy, save money on utility bills, and improve the comfort of your home. And all of these efforts will also help to make a significant impact on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the Brookline community.

Not every electrification solution will apply to every Brookline renter,  depending on factors such as:

• Whether you live in an apartment in a 2- or 3-family home, in a larger multi-family building, or in a free-standing single family home.
• Whether you rent in Brookline for a limited time-frame (for employment or education, for example), rent with the intent of eventually owning a condo or a home, or rent your apartment as your permanent home.
• Whether or not you live in the same building with your landlord, or deal with a property management company for apartment repairs.

This guide presents a range of approaches that may or may not be applicable to your specific Brookline rental. The Mass Save website provides information on programs specifically for renters; Green Energy Consumers Alliance also provides helpful information on programs for renters and landlords.  In addition, the Electrify Brookline team has received funding to help our town’s renters access programs that can help lower their energy costs and make their homes more comfortable. Find out more about the Brookline Renters Project.

Background

The recently published Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap includes an ambitious near-term goal of the complete electrification of one million homes across the state by 2030 and ALL homes by 2050, whether owner-occupied or rented. The Roadmap outlines an approach to reach the Commonwealth’s goals to reduce carbon emissions through four straightforward efforts:

1. Reduce Energy Demand
2. Use 100% Renewable Electricity
3. Electrify Everything
4. Sequester Carbon

All Brookline residents – both renters and owners – can take actions in their homes to address the first three of these efforts. There are several ways to start your journey towards energy efficiency and emissions reductions on your own, and you may also be able to work with your landlord or property manager on pursuing larger improvements to the building.

1. Reduce Energy Demand

Even if your appliances and systems run on fossil fuels like gas or oil, as a renter you can still take individual actions to reduce your climate-damaging emissions by reducing your energy demand through efficiency and conservation.

• If you have a programmable thermostat for your unit, lower the winter heating setpoint to 55 or 60 degrees while you are away or when you sleep. On sunny days during the winter, keep your window blinds open to warm your apartment naturally with the sun.
• If you have air conditioning, raise the summer cooling setpoint to 75 or 80 degrees, but do consider indoor humidity levels and your personal health and well-being. Use fans to keep the air moving and make you feel more comfortable. If you close window blinds, shades or curtains during the day, you can use less energy to keep your apartment cool.
• Install LED Light bulbs, and turn off lights when they are not being used.
• Avoid running hot water continuously while doing dishes, washing up, brushing teeth, or shaving.
• If OK with your landlord, install low-flow shower heads to use less hot water.
• Wash your clothes in cold water. They will get clean – honest.
• Use smart power strips to turn off electronics when not in use (many plugged-in appliances use energy even when off)
• Use plastic window kits inside to cut down on drafts. They will likely pay for themselves in a year with reduced energy costs.

2. Choose 100% Clean Energy through Brookline’s BGE Program

If you pay your own electricity bill, you can participate in the Brookline Green Electricity (BGE) program, which can reduce your carbon footprint by as much as 25%!  BGE is an official Community Choice Aggregation program whereby the Town negotiates with an electricity supplier to bulk purchase electricity at stable rates for all Eversource account holders in the Town. To see if you’re already participating in the program, check if the “Supplier” listed on your Eversource bill is “Brookline Green Electricity c/o NES.” Not participating? Use the online form at brooklinegreen.com or call our supplier, Direct Energy, at 866.968.8065 to join.

For more details, read the How-To Guide #8: Renewable, Clean, Green Electricity.

3. Electrify Everything

As a renter, even if your landlord isn’t able to change appliances and energy systems in your apartment, there are still steps you can take to reduce your emissions.

Air-Source Heat Pumps for Apartments

• If you are thinking about purchasing window air conditioners, consider window heat pumps or portable heat pumps instead. They are better than a window AC unit because they’re able to provide both cooling in the hot months and heating during cold weather. And you can take them with you if you move. 
• Can renters get tax credits for these heat pumps?
  Yes! The 25C tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act provides a capped 30 percent tax credit for heat pumps of up to $2,000 per year. Renters may be specifically interested in the 25C credit for portable, window-unit heat pumps once the Consortium for Energy Efficiency releases relevant efficiency standards (expected by 2024). Also, renters may take qualifying equipment with them when they move. Mass Save has developed a set of frequently asked questions.

Electric Cooking

• Consider using countertop electrical cooking small appliances instead of your gas stove, but do verify with your landlord that the kitchen outlets can support additional small appliances. Maybe you have or can borrow a crockpot, an instapot, an electric tea kettle, microwave or toaster oven. Consider a portable induction cookplate. You can borrow a kit from the Brookline Library to “check out” induction cooking. Every time you use an electrical appliance instead of your gas stove, you can reduce your emissions as well as the negative health impacts of gas cooking.
• For more details, read the How-To Guide #3: Induction Cooking.

Get a Home Energy Assessment

• A home energy assessment from MassSave is FREE and is available for renters in 1-4 unit buildings as well as to landlords of buildings of any size. MassSave has specific programs and recommendations for renters. You can ask for a MassSave assessment without needing approval from your landlord. The assessment allows you to:
  • Connect with an Energy Specialist to help you find energy-saving opportunities in your house or apartment.
  • Receive recommended no-cost energy-saving products delivered directly to your door, such as advanced power strips, low-flow showerheads, LED lightbulbs, faucet aerators and programmable thermostats or discounted smart thermostats.
  • Get recommendations that you can work with your landlord to take advantage of.
• If you live in a building with 5 or more units, the building owner or property manager will need to sign up for the assessment. Look for details, including a brochure and case studies, at Rebates and Incentives for Multi-Family Properties.

For more details on Home Energy Assessments, read the How-To Guide #2:  Weatherization, Insulation and Air Sealing.

Work with Your Landlord to Make Improvements

Talking to your landlord about energy efficiency is an opportunity to find shared benefits. An improved apartment will be more comfortable for you and can save on utility costs for both you and your landlord. 

• Ask your landlord to have a Mass Save assessment for the entire property. This will allow the property owner to access rebates to improve and add value to their property and retain tenants by providing a more comfortable living space. Mass Save research shows that every $1 spent on energy efficiency can add up to $10 in property value.
• Be sure your landlord is aware of Mass Save’s financial incentives for insulating the property.  Insulation qualifies for a 75% or up to a 100% instant rebate after a home energy assessment.  Rebates are also available for the heating system, for the hot water heating system, for electric cooking, and laundry appliances.
• You may find some useful information in a recent report “Decarbonization without Displacement: Tenant advocacy in the context of Inflation Reduction Act Implementation.”

More and more Massachusetts car buyers are choosing electric vehicles! The number and types of EVs available to consumers, along with the financial incentives to help pay for them, are both rapidly expanding.  Now is a great time to explore making your next vehicle purchase an electric one.

What Is an Electric Vehicle? What Are EV Chargers?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are cars, trucks and other modes of transportation with engines powered by batteries that can be recharged by plugging the vehicle into a home or public charging station. 

EVs include those that are powered exclusively by batteries (“battery electric vehicles” or BEVs, a term sometimes used by the government), as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Like fully-electric cars, PHEVs and HEVs have a rechargeable battery, but they also have an internal combustion engine that runs on gas that will power the car when the battery power is depleted. Unlike PHEVs, HEVs cannot plug into the grid to recharge.

EV chargers are the method by which electric vehicle batteries are re-energized. The amount of time it takes to fully charge a battery depends on the size of the battery, the speed of the onboard charger (the vehicle’s device that manages a safe charging speed), and the type of charging. There are three types of charging:

• Level 1 charging involves plugging the vehicle into a standard household outlet and is the slowest charging method, typically adding about 5 miles of range for every charging hour. Level-1 chargers could be suitable for EV owners who can charge their car overnight or over the course of a day for relatively short distance driving. They are commonly used for plug-in hybrids, which have smaller batteries that can charge more quickly.
• Level 2 charging requires 240-volt AC service (such as electric dryers use) and requires a special charging device, known as electric vehicle supply equipment, or “EVSE.” Level 2 chargers can add between 11 to 60 miles with every charging hour.
• Level 3, or DC fast chargers, are able to add 45 to 200 miles range for every 30 minutes of charging. They are not currently an option for home charging, but many are located in public service stations near highways, as they are essential for longer journeys.

How Can EVs Help the Climate?

EVs are far more efficient than gas-powered combustion engines with 77% of the electricity used to power the wheels, versus 12-30% with gasoline engines. They also significantly reduce the vehicle emissions that cause climate change and exacerbate local air pollution and related health problems.

The Massachusetts Decarbonization Roadmap provides the Commonwealth’s plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 by switching from burning fossil fuels to clean electricity. Transportation makes up almost 40% of the state’s carbon emissions, so transitioning our gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles is key. The Commonwealth has also mandated that the electric utilities operating in Massachusetts annually increase the grid’s clean energy supply.  The cleaner the grid, the cleaner the operation of electric vehicles. 

What’s Involved? What Choices Are There?

Joining the EV revolution requires purchasing or leasing an EV and accessing EV charging stations for battery recharging. There are many options available for both tasks and a range of financial incentives to help.

Getting an EV

Each year, consumers enjoy a widening array of new and used EV choices for purchase or leasing. Some of the traditional resources for internal combustion engine car reviews — Consumer Reports, Edmunds, Car and Driver — now review each year’s line-up of new EV models. In addition to visiting dealerships, options for test driving EVs include ZipCar, Turo, and some of the major car rental companies.

The non-profit organization Green Energy Consumers Alliance runs a “Drive Green” program providing information on EVs, EV charging, and financial incentives. The program also offers a shopping tool and resources to learn more about EV choices, both new and used, and the rollout underway of the uniform North American Charging System (“NACS”) at public chargers around the country.  Given this transition, prospective purchasers should read up on the charging technology used by the EVs they are considering. Drive Green also offers some pre-arranged pricing through dealer partnerships. 

Today, the predominant battery type found in EVs is lithium-ion, a larger, more powerful version of the batteries found in many household and personal products such as cell phones. EVs have a range that is determined by the storage size of the battery in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and vehicle efficiency, which, as with combustion engine vehicles, varies. One way to compare vehicle efficiency and costs is to look at the lifecycle of different vehicles on Carboncounter.com, where you can compare different BEVs, PHEVs, HEVs and internal combustion models.

Charging an EV

There are a number of charging options available both for charging at home and away from home at public charging stations.

Home Charging:  As explained above, Level 1 charging can be readily accomplished by plugging in the EV to a standard 120-volt AC outlet. 

Faster Level 2 home charging requires 240-volt AC service and an EVSE.  Green Energy Consumers Alliance provides a charging guide that discusses different options for an EVSE purchase, and product reviews are readily available from Consumer Reports , the New York Times’ Wirecutter column and others.  Installation costs for Level 2 chargers will vary depending on whether the outlet will be installed inside a garage or outdoors, the distance of the charger from the electrical panel, and whether the installation will require an underground trench to reach a post-mounted charger away from the building.  One factor to consider is that “smart chargers” — EVSEs that help you manage the charging process — may be required for certain rebates and to take advantage of Eversource’s anticipated future utility rate changes based on time of use. An electrician may advise you that you need to upgrade your electrical service if you don’t have adequate capacity. One approach that may be less costly than an electrical service upgrade is to install an energy management or “load sharing” device along with the charger. These devices automatically slow the charging rate to compensate for other electricity demands on the electric panel; in a multi-family or condo building, these load-sharing devices can also manage demand between multiple chargers. Remember that a licensed electrician should obtain all relevant permits and inspections from the Town of Brookline’s Building Department.

Public charging:  The availability of public charging stations is expanding, and there are helpful apps to find available chargers that suit your vehicle and needs. A federal government website identifies across-network charging stations and some details about them, including the charger type and port type; similar information is provided by the app Plugshare.  A Better Route Planner (ABRP) is a trip-planning app that provides similar information on charging stations available along a route it generates to your travel destination. Charging network deployers including EVGo, Chargepoint and Electrify America have their own apps to identify the chargers within their fleet; these can be helpful if an EV purchase includes a period of free charging or a cost-saving discount at a particular network.

The Town of Brookline is continuously expanding publicly-available EV charging; the DPW’s website details where to find chargers currently, and information about future plans to expand the network.

Historically, there have been competing models of charging technology for BEVs. This is an evolving topic and it’s important to be aware of the specific charging requirements for your EV. Green Energy Consumers Alliance Drive Green website posts illustrations of the various types of ports and plugs and explains the details.  An exciting development is the transition to a new, uniform EV charger technology known as “North American Charging Standard” (NACS), based on the formerly proprietary Tesla charger. The transition means that Tesla’s expansive charging network will be available to all EVs. As the transition unfolds, some EV manufacturers are providing adapters for Tesla chargers, and some Tesla charging stations  have “magic docks” with adapters. You can find them on Tesla’s website or app.

Other Considerations

Comparing EVs with gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine vehicles:

• EVs offer a number of driving experience advantages including powerful acceleration, a quiet ride, and potentially lower operating costs per mile. 
• EVs offer reduced maintenance costs due to simplified powertrains and design. Green Energy Consumers Alliance’s “Drive Green” FAQ estimates maintenance costs with EVs to be roughly half, with primary maintenance needs that include tire rotation, battery inspection, brake fluid flush, and in-cabin air filter replacement.
• Operating costs may be lower with an EV. A government website tool compares fuel costs in miles per hour between vehicles by make, model and year (both EVs and internal combustion engines).  Eversource offers a tool to compare the cost of electricity versus gas by vehicle.

As with all types of vehicles, cold weather can make a battery less efficient and reduce range, although there are cold weather strategies to minimize the impact.

Financial Incentives

IMPORTANT: This Guide summarizes incentives and tax credits as of 2024. Efforts will be made to update the information as necessary.

EV purchase and lease incentives:

EV car buyers can use federal tax credits to reduce the cost of new EVs by up to $7,500, and used EVs by up to $4,000, subject to certain personal income ceilings and vehicle eligibility. Green Energy Consumers Alliance explains some of the details on its “Drive Green” federal tax credit website, as does a government website tool. Note: these federal tax credits expired after September 30, 2025.

Massachusetts also provides rebates to lower the cost of EVs for residents, currently providing up to $3,500 for a qualifying new or used car purchase or lease, and up to $7,500 for a qualifying EV truck purchase or lease. Income-eligible buyers may receive an additional $1,500. For details, see Green Energy Consumer Alliance’s “Drive Green” state rebates summary for Massachusetts and the Commonwealth’s MOR-EV program.

Home charging incentives:

Single-family homes and multi-family buildings of 4 units or fewer: Eversource offers rebates to help customers lower the cost of home charger installations.  These run from $700 to $2,700 depending on number of units served, location and utility discount rate status. Eligibility requirements include the purchase of a “smart” EVSE from an approved list to enable participation in Eversource’s anticipated “managed charging” program.

Multi-family buildings of 5 or more units: There are two programs available. 

1. The MassEVIP program, with funding from the State’s settlement with Volkswagen, provides grants to partially cover the cost of EVSEs in buildings of 5 or more units. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until all available funding is spent; refer to the MassEVIP Multi-Unit Dwelling webpage for program details and application instructions.
2. The Eversource Make Ready program pays for upgrades to the electrical infrastructure and service to support the installation of EV chargers. Eversource subsidizes the cost of, and performs all necessary work in the public way, for example upgrades of conduits and transformers. It also subsidizes the cost of upgrades on private property that are performed by an approved contractor the property owner retains. The Make Ready program may also subsidize the cost of EVSE’s in the event that an applicant is not eligible for EVSE subsidies through MassEVIP. Completing an EV installation through the Make Ready program can be a long and complicated process, but it could offer large subsidies when significant electrical upgrades are needed. Detailed information about Make Ready subsidies is posted in a table on Eversource’s website; scroll down for details on the Multi-Unit Dwelling EV Charging Program.

Federal Tax Credit: A few of Brookline’s census tracts are currently eligible for  a  “30C” federal tax credit of 30%, with a maximum of $1,000, for the cost of installing EV chargers at a principal residence. This federal website provides a map of eligible census tracts and you can search for your specific address. Note: federal tax credits for EV chargers will expire after June 30, 2026.

Other Resources

Here are some of the many excellent resources:

Federal Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center — Electric Vehicles and Fuel Economy — All-Electric Vehicles

Eversource electric utility EV information, with info about vehicles, fuel savings, charging and incentives

Green Energy Consumers Alliance (MA and RI) Drive Green program information, including partnerships with selected dealerships.

How Your Neighbors Made the Switch

Story #1 – Using Public EV Chargers

A Brookline couple lived in one-half of a two-family house where they had raised their now-adult children. In 2020, they bought their electric vehicle — a Chevy Bolt — and they have loved having it. They charged their EV with a Level 1 charger — a long cord that connected from the car’s charging port to a standard outlet inside their home. While it could take two days to fully charge, that was no problem as they walked or biked around town more often than they used the car.

In 2022, when they were downsizing and looking for a condo to buy, they discovered that it wasn’t easy to find a condo with a parking space that included an EV charger. The condo on Washington Street they liked had parking nearby, but no charging. So they assessed their lifestyle and realized that they were quite near the public chargers in the Town Hall parking lots, and since they used their car fairly infrequently, maybe they could make public charging work.

So now their Sunday routine is to wake up early, drive their car to the Town Hall lot, plug it in to the Level 2 charger and go for a run. When they come back in the early afternoon the car is fully charged. They have three apps to see when a charger opens up and when their car is fully charged. At that point they have a half hour to pick up the car before additional fees start to be incurred. They use ChargePoint’s app for the Town Hall chargers; they use GreenSpot for the public chargers on Webster Street; and they use EvGo when they are traveling to find fast chargers available on their route. This process has worked well for them.

Another Brookline couple recently relocated from the Philadelphia area to Brookline and purchased a condo in an association with 26 units and assigned parking spots, but no EV chargers. They had a Nissan Leaf — what to do? They learned that the association was researching whether to install chargers and was working with Eversource to put together a plan.  While that project was underway, the couple relied on the Town’s public chargers. As the Town has installed more and more of these across different neighborhoods, it was pretty easy to find a public charger nearby and they could rely on getting a full charge when they needed it.

When the Condo Board received the proposed design from Eversource for the electrical upgrades needed for EV chargers, they decided not to present their findings to the residents; the proposal was too expensive, even with the contribution from Eversource, and only a few of the condo owners actually owned EVs at that time. So now the couple revised their approach to charge their car and installed a standard outdoor weatherized outlet, wired directly from their condo. They were fortunate that their assigned parking spot was directly below their condo, so this was relatively easy to do.  Charging through a standard outlet provides about 4 miles for an hour of charge — often called “trickle charging” — but this works for them because they mostly walk or bike and don’t need the car for commuting to work. If they  need the car for a longer trip, they use one of the Town’s Level 2 or Level 3 chargers. Their electric usage has increased somewhat, but given the couple’s strong commitment to the climate, and the convenience of EVs, with less frequent and less costly maintenance, owning an electric vehicle still makes sense for them.

Story # 2 – Using Rebates and Discounts to Help Pay for an EV and Home Charger

In 2024, a Brookline Village resident decided to replace his family’s 18-year-old hybrid car with an EV.  He needed to do it quickly, as the car was in urgent need of costly repairs that would not have been a wise investment. The family’s lifestyle did not usually involve much driving, but they did need cargo space, as well as seat and ceiling heights that worked for everyone.

The family had joined ZipCar for a couple of months to try out some of the EVs in their fleet. Based on their driving experiences and research (including watching YouTube reviews), their top choices were the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, ultimately deciding on the Ioniq 5 for its improved rear/side visibility and larger cargo space compared to the EV6. The original plan was to buy a used EV, so they visited a dealer specializing in pre-owned EVs; when they couldn’t find a suitable used vehicle, they decided instead to buy a new one.

The family visited a local Hyundai dealer, intending to buy an Ioniq 5 with standard range (approx. 240 miles) and rear-wheel drive (RWD), which provided higher efficiency, range, and more “frunk” (front trunk) space than the all-wheel drive (AWD). The dealership didn’t carry the standard range or RWD models, saying “there wasn’t much demand for them in the Northeast.” They did locate two at remote dealerships, but between the added cost to transport a vehicle and no ability to negotiate the price, that option was less attractive. They decided to choose an EV on the lot with AWD and extended range (approx. 300 miles).

At the time of manufacture, Hyundai had not yet transferred enough of its EV production to the U.S. for the car to qualify for the $7,500 federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit (note that this eligibility could change in 2025); instead, the dealership provided a “manufacturer’s discount” in that amount.  The vehicle was eligible for a $3,500 Massachusetts MOR-EV rebate. Finally, the dealership offered a $5,000 discount to lease the EV, instead of the $2,200 discount they had negotiated to purchase it. A lease had additional appeal as a way to mitigate depreciation risk. The family made a down payment of $2,500 on the lease and walked away with a new Ioniq 5 with $16,000 worth of discounts.

For home EV charging, the resident purchased a 50 amp ChargePoint Home Flex charger ($549 from Lowe’s), which he learned would be eligible to participate in Eversource’s future managed charging program, and therefore eligible for the utility’s rebate of the installation cost ($700). The electrician mounted the charger on the outside of the house just a few feet away from the basement electric panel. Since the panel had sufficient spare capacity, the only electrical work required was a new circuit breaker and wiring to the outdoor charger.

By leveraging federal and state rebates, and doing some smart dealer negotiating, this family landed a 3-year substantially-discounted lease of a new EV, along with a rebate for the cost of installing a home charger.

Story #3:  Using MassEVIP funding for EV Charging at a Condo Complex

Having lived in a large Brookline house for over 30 years, this Brookline couple downsized to a condo a few years ago. Their unit is the first floor of a three-story row house built around 1925.  The condominium complex includes 30 units in all, in 10 buildings of 3 units each.

The condo owner has had a long-standing and deep interest in renewable energy and the first thing she realized after moving in was that, while there was a parking lot for the condo complex with room for 30 cars, there was no place to charge her plug-in hybrid. That set her on a path to see what might be possible.

With some partners from the other condo units, they began doing their research and found an amazing lack of information. They started bringing contractors in and asking questions:

• Did they need 30 chargers for the 30 parking spaces? 
• How could they bring in enough electricity for all those chargers?  How could they wire the lot?  They didn’t think that any of the older buildings had enough power and they got a proposal from Eversource to get a new transformer, but that proved too comprehensive and too costly for the condominium association.

After speaking with numerous experts in the renewable energy sector (in both non-profit and consulting entities), they came to the conclusion that they didn’t need 30 chargers after all. One charger could handle multiple cars — one at a time — with scheduling software that would let users see when the charger was available. Currently there were seven owners (some with EVs, some with plug-in hybrids) who could make use of the chargers, so they decided to start with one charger and see how things went.

They sent in a grant application to the Mass Electric Vehicle Incentive Program (MassEVIP) of the Department of Environmental Protection to help defray the cost. In order to be eligible for this grant at least one space needed to be handicapped accessible. Luckily the condo association’s parking lot had one space that met the dimensional requirements. Even better, that space was next to the one building in the complex that had had its electricity upgraded from 200 to 400 amps. Another eligibility requirement was that the charger have an Energy Star rating. They got the grant, which funded 60% of the cost for the charger and the installation, which was a total of around $9,000.  The remainder of the expense — around $4,000 — came out of the association’s common budget.

Everything went live in mid-August 2023, with one charger from BTC Power with one port.  Its location is in an alcove at the back of one of the buildings and can only accommodate one car at a time.  The key to success so far is the software provided by subscription by EVConnect that controls access, handles credit card payments and gives availability information. With an EVConnect app on their smart phones, users can see if the charger is free to use.

The condominium board has drawn up policies and rules guiding the use by condo owners who want to charge their vehicles.

• Users pay a $50 annual fee.
• There is a $1.00 hookup fee each time you charge.
• Users pay  $0.40/kWh while charging.
• Guests cannot use the charger (This may change in the future as they see how the system works for users.)
• Once charging is complete, the vehicle must be moved within one hour. After that there is an additional cost of $5/hour (“idling time”), which is suspended for overnight between 11:00 pm – 8:00 am.

The process to do all the research, to apply for the grant, and to get approval from the condo board was time-consuming and they wished there had been more information available to them at the time.  They found that the software company, EVConnect, was very helpful, providing advice and training on the software. They had also reached out to a Transportation Engineer in Brookline’s Transportation Division of the DPW, who gave them terrific advice.

Story # 4 – Using Eversource “Make Ready” Program Funds for Installing EV Chargers

The case study below – from Acton, Massachusetts — highlights the “Make Ready” programs of Eversource and other electric utility companies operating in the Commonwealth, with almost $400 million in state funding available.  “Make Ready” programs can provide significant funding for the electrical infrastructure upgrades necessary for EV charging and/or solar at residential properties (rentals or condos) with 5 or more units. Because the “Make Ready” program is targeted to businesses, in order to qualify the property must have a commercial Eversource account; many large condo and rental properties have a commercial account for the electricity used in their common areas, or one can be created for the purpose of installing EV chargers.

This 24-unit housing development in Acton is organized as a condo association with a mixture of single family homes, duplexes and triplexes, and includes two parking lots with 34 unassigned parking spots. The parking lots had minimal electrical infrastructure, just some lighting. The condo association wanted to use Eversource’s “Make Ready” program to help fund the electrical upgrades needed to install EV chargers in the two lots.  It also wanted “Make Ready” funding to subsidize the cost of adding solar canopies over the parking lots.

In 2021, the condo association submitted two “Make Ready” applications to Eversource for EV charging, one for each lot. Eversource required the association to pay $1,200 for a study to analyze the electrical distribution system and whether it could support both EV charging and solar.  After the study confirmed feasibility in 2022, Eversource reimbursed the study cost. The association’s contractor successfully applied to be added to Eversource’s list of approved EV contractors.

Eversource’s preferred practice is to install 5 EV chargers at a time — in this case, 5 chargers in each of the 2 lots, for a total of 10 EV chargers — which was more than the association wanted. Ultimately, Eversource agreed to put in 2 chargers in one lot and 3 in the other, and wire the remaining 5 spots for possible future EVSE installation.

Per “Make Ready” requirements, Eversource required the association to apply for MassEVIP subsidies for the EVSEs that, if granted, would offset Eversource’s award. However, due to MassEVIP delays, Eversource ultimately helped subsidize the cost of the EVSEs, including paying for the first 5 years of monitoring software. (Having monitoring software is a requirement of the “Make Ready” program, and Eversource monitors the EVSEs to make sure they are being used.)

The charger selected met the EVSE requirements of both Eversource and MassEVIP and had software that accommodated non-resident charging at a higher rate (although associated credit card fees have been high, and the development may reconsider billing approaches).

Eversource contributed around $50,000 toward the EV charging stations. The association’s total outlay for the chargers and associated infrastructure was $7,000, which was paid for from their capital fund. Residents and visitors who use the chargers pay fees that are used to pay the electricity bills, with a bit saved for future maintenance costs. The process was long and complicated but ultimately successful, and the EV chargers went online in January 2024.

Story #5:  Using Load Management to Install EV Chargers and Avoid Electrical Upgrades

Looking to take advantage of EV incentives, a Brookline couple purchased an EV in early December 2024, before any changes to federal EV tax credits that might take place with the new administration.  With state rebates and manufacturer’s discounts, they bought a 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 6 for under $34,000. But now they needed a charger.

The couple owns a small, 1500 square-foot home with a 100-amp electrical system. They installed a heat pump system a year and a half earlier so were assuming they would need an upgrade to 200 amps. But they had also heard about load management devices that can monitor and control energy consumption and increase efficiency to avoid costly upgrades.

They got bids from three electricians, requesting estimates for installing a charger with an upgrade and alternately, with a load management device. One of the electricians had no experience with the latter so was not considered. The other two had similar estimates, with the upgrade plus charger installation running around $8000. By contrast, installing a charger with a DCC-12 load management device cost $3600. They decided on the latter and then purchased a Level 2 Emporia Charger from Amazon for $400.

The Emporia charger is on the Mass Save list of approved chargers, and the homeowners applied for and received a $1000 rebate (an amount available to those in Environmental Justice communities). This brought the total equipment and installation expenses down to $3000 — some $4000 less than if they had done an electrical update.

The DCC device works by monitoring the home’s electrical system and automatically pausing the charger if the home’s total usage reaches 80% of capacity. The charger delivers up to 48 amps, but the electrician installed it on a 30-amp circuit as per guidance from the Brookline electrical inspector. To date, they have experienced no apparent delays in charging, even when hosting several house guests.

They’ve been very happy with this solution. It makes sense for a small home, especially since they do most of their charging overnight. And by avoiding an upgrade, it saved money and puts less pressure on the grid.