Transcript:
About three years ago, Robert Whitehair of San Mateo, California, had the gas meter removed from his home and the line capped.
Whitehair: “And I had the great fun of removing the gas pipes from my house myself. Got a couple of pipe wrenches and started removing them, and that was great fun.”
It was a moment to celebrate. Whitehair and his wife had transitioned their home to run entirely on clean electricity.
First, they’d made their home more energy-efficient by adding insulation and switching out their light bulbs with LEDs.
Then, they installed solar panels and a battery backup system, which provides more power than the home uses.
Whitehair: “We actually get a check back every year for a couple hundred dollars from our local utility provider.”
And they switched out their gas appliances with an electric induction stove, an electric heat pump water heater, and an electric heat pump HVAC system.
Whitehair says the couple hopes to inspire others to do the same. They’ve put a sign out front highlighting that the home is all electric and given tours to more than 100 people.
Whitehair: “Some of the people who come in are excited because they want to do it themselves. But we still have people who’ve never been in an all-electric home, and so it’s just inspirational and sometimes surprising.”
Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
