Lessons in Residential Electrification Project and Report
Lessons in Residential Electrification Project and Report
During 2019 - 2021, the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) and Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) conducted a residential electrification project and analysis to understand the potential benefits and challenges of fuel-switching in low-income households. In late 2019 early 2020, LEAP switched HVAC systems, hot water heaters, cooking ranges, and other appliances from fossil fuel-based to electric in eight households in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. C3 then followed the homeowners and their energy usage over the course of two winters.
Key Findings from the Report
Electrification combined with insulation improvements serves as an important strategy for reducing the overall energy consumption and average greenhouse gas emissions of households in our community; especially for those relying on heating oil as a fuel source.
The yearly GHG emissions of the eight participating households will reduce nearly 95.0% with respect to their baseline emissions by the year of 2040 (as a result of expected grid decarbonization efforts), possibly avoiding a total of up to 2,094,281 pounds of CO2e over the next 20 years.
Greenhouse gas emissions decreased significantly (between -56.3% and -68.0%) for households that formerly used heating oil. Emissions of those that formerly used natural gas followed a less clear trend.
The net present value (NPV) of projected yearly monetary savings adds up to ~$32,000 over the next 20 years for all households. The average NPV of $4,000 per household should be kept in mind when assessing the best technology for replacing HVAC systems. Cost savings to the homeowner, although largely positive and based on a brief evaluation period of three months, varied widely on a case-by-case basis, with no clear reason as to why some households performed better than others.
As a result of our fuel-switching pilot, the combined performance of the eight pilot participants between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 resulted in a -56.0% decrease in energy consumption (or 202,567 MBTUs), a -26.6% reduction in energy expenditures (or $1,946) and a -38.7% drop in GHG emissions (or 22,707 pounds of CO2e).
Upgrades will provide combined year-round reductions for the eight pilot participants of about -37.2% in energy consumption (or 340,711 MBTUs/year), -17.7% in energy bills’ expenditures (or $2,926/year), and -25.7% reduction in the GHG emissions (or 40,551 pounds of CO2e/year).
When considering monthly energy bill savings — maybe the most important metric for low-income households — further evaluation is necessary due to many unique and relevant variables present in each household. Future analysis of a full year’s worth of energy bills for each household will give the most comprehensive insight into the financial impacts of electrification.
In this report you will find the analysis of the climate, energy consumption, and monetary impacts of the project, as well as individual profiles of project participants and the scope of work for each household.
Disclaimer: Our project included a small sample size of eight households. Results for households were based on the comparison of three months of data from Q1 2020 and Q1 2021. Temperature variations between 2020 and 2021 were significant, and the Covid-19 pandemic likely had a significant impact on behavior and energy usage of all participants.
Watch the Recording of our Webinar
In case you missed our Lesson in Residential Electrification webinar on August 31, 2021, we have the recording for you below. In this webinar we explored the lessons learned in switching our eight homeowners to all-electric. The webinar begins with an overview of the project, then we present key findings-- the environmental; health and safety; cost savings; and comfort. Next we show you a virtual tour of two of the homes, and then leave go to Q and A.