What’s not to love about electricity?! It’s a healthy, clean and effective way to power your
home. Introducing the next generation of electric heating equipment and appliances for heating and cooling, hot water, and cooking.
Common Questions About Electrification
What are the benefits of electrification?
Reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, reduced fuel costs, improved health and safety, improved performance of the electric system or equipment.
Do all-electric new homes cost more?
All-electric new homes cost about the same or slightly less than homes with traditional fuel-based space and water heating and gas ranges.
Is it more expensive to heat my home with electricity than natural gas?
For an all-electric new home, the heating costs will be about the same or slightly lower than for a more traditional home using natural gas for heating. To further reduce your annual electricity costs, you could also consider adding a solar PV system, or purchasing some of your home’s electricity from a solar garden.
What is a cold-climate heat pump?
Cold-climate heat pumps achieve better energy performance at colder temperatures than standard heat pumps, and they are designed for higher efficiency over the entire range of winter temperatures. The best cold-climate heat pumps provide 70-80 percent of the heat pump’s maximum heating capacity at temperatures as low as 5 degrees F.
Do heat pumps work well in Denver’s climate, without a backup furnace?
For a new home in climate zones 4 or 5 (all areas of Colorado except for the mountain areas), a cold-climate heat pump system will work very well without a backup furnace.
What are the benefits of induction cooking?
Induction cooking offers several benefits compared to cooking with gas or propane. It is safer because there are no direct flames and no fire hazard. It is healthier because there are no emissions of pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides. And induction also heats up food quicker than with gas or propane. Induction cooktops are also very easy to clean, because they are smooth, and the cooking surface itself does not get hot.
Heating & Cooling
Installing an efficient electric heat pump will help you reduce your energy costs (in many cases) and reduce your carbon footprint, while improving indoor air quality and comfort in your home.
Air-source heat pumps are reversible air conditioners. Just like an air conditioner, in the summer they transfer heat from inside your home to the outside. In the winter they “concentrate” and transfer heat from the outside to inside your home. Heat pumps run on electricity but are 2-3 times more efficient than electric resistance heating.
Hot Water
After your furnace/heating system, the next largest energy consumer in your home is your water heater. Heat pump water heaters can help reduce your hot water-energy consumption, costs, and carbon emissions.
Heat pump water heaters cost a bit more than standard electric or propane water heaters, but they easily pay for themselves in annual energy cost savings. In addition, compared to standard electric and propane water heaters, they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60-70%. Compared to Energy Star natural gas water heaters, HPWHs are much more efficient and reduce CO2 emissions by about 50%, and the annual heating costs are about the same.
Cooking with Electricity
The next generation of electric ranges and cooktops are making it easy to revise your approach to cooking at home. Electric resistance coil cooktops have been around for many years, and most people prefer gas or propane burners because of the faster/better cooking performance. However, the newer generation of electric ranges and induction or radiant electric cooktops are much more efficient. Both induction and radiant electric cooktops offer several potential benefits over cooking with gas or propane including reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides and improved safety by eliminating open flame.
Please visit LoveElectric.org for more information. For example, you can find lists of qualified installers of heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, all the rebates available, and estimates of installed costs for various heat pump applications/scenarios.
