Rewiring America Can Help You Create a Whole-Home Electrification Plan — In Minutes

Finding ways to save money on utility bills isn't anything new, but homeowners are increasingly focused on which investments will help them save the most over time. Federal and state-level incentives make it even more complicated to compare opportunities for energy efficiency, especially when your buddy two states away raved about the savings he got on his new heat pump but the same perks don't apply in your area. For a long time, getting insight into these incentive programs took a lot of work and research—but now, it's easy.

In a groundbreaking effort to simplify the home energy savings process, Rewiring America launched its Personal Electricification Planner. “In interviewing homeowners, we heard over and over again that people learned a lot of information, often the hard way, as they took on these projects to go electric,” said Tom Mercer, Head of Product at Rewiring America. “Our goal was to develop a set of resources that could help homeowners front load these learnings, make smarter choices, and give people a better idea of what the journey could look like for their specific home. The Personal Electrification Planner gives homeowners that advantage.” The planner helps homeowners understand the upfront cost for upgrades, annual bill savings, annual emissions reductions, and air pollution and health impacts for a series of electrification upgrades, including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, electric dryers, EV chargers, and rooftop solar.

How does it work?

It took me 10 minutes to create an account on Rewiring America and input information about my single-family home, including its address, square footage, and HVAC and electrical systems. From there, click a button and it produces a full energy assessment report including:

• Pre-work projects. The website shows recommended actions that will make future upgrades viable. For us, it recommended we upgrade our electrical panel.

• Incomplete projects. The tool lists energy-efficient upgrades that can help your household save money. For example, we were recommended solar. The report cited projections such as the impact on our energy bill, our climate impact range, the incentive accounts (thousands of dollars), and the expected upfront cost. The reporting also showed us what we could save if we switched from a gas water heater to an electric model.

• Completed projects. The tool recognizes which energy-saving products are already helping you save money. My household energy breakdown lists the impact of our electric clothes dryer, induction range, and electric vehicle.

The tool will let you export the entire report and keep it on hand as you decide which upgrades are most realistic for your budget and home.

Are there options for renters?

Indeed. Rewiring America pairs its Personal Electrification Planner for homeowners with an Electrification for Renters tool that lists multiple projects renters can undertake themselves to go electric. Understanding that having landlord buy-in is really important, they also include a guide for talking to your landlord. After all, there are incentives for them, too.

A few easy solutions they recommend include:

• Invest in a portable induction cooktop and other energy-saving equipment

• Opt into a community solar farm through your electric company

• Buy a new or used electric car to manage your carbon footprint outside of the home