At first glance, the scene is strikingly ordinary: just two working parents whipping up a quick family dinner. Scott Kroll stirs the pasta sauce. His wife, Clare Fauke, drops spaghetti into a pot of boiling water.
Still, something is missing: Look closely, and you’ll see that there are no flames rising from the burners.
A quick sniff reveals there’s no gassy smell in the air.
Fossil fuels, including natural gas, have been banished from the couple’s Logan Square home, where all the appliances, as well as the water heater and the heating and cooling system, run on electricity, a form of energy that can be produced without planet-warming greenhouse emissions.
“Hopefully, this will be the future,” Fauke said. “On a bigger scale, I think it could have a huge impact.”
At a time when Americans are beginning to wake up to the potential of all-electric buildings, people such as Fauke and Kroll are leading the way, part of a small but growing group of early adopters living on the clean energy frontier and reporting back on their experiences.
Buildings, including homes and businesses, are responsible for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Public discussion has focused on the role electric cars can play in helping the nation to achieve the Biden administration’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and avoid the worst effects of climate change. But experts are also highlighting the need to switch from fossil fuels to electricity at home.
“Electrifying all existing and new buildings is really key,” said Sara Baldwin, director of electrification policy at Energy Innovation, a climate policy think tank. “We’ve got to start replacing fossil fuel equipment in buildings as soon as feasible.”
The United States would need to fully electrify about 5 million existing buildings per year, starting in 2030, to be on track to meet its 2050 climate goals, according to Ana Sophia Mifsud, a team manager at the clean energy think tank RMI, formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Fewer than 1 million buildings are currently going all-electric each year, Mifsud said. Barriers include cost and lack of public awareness.
But momentum is building, with a push for widespread electrification spawning books such as ”Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future,” at least one podcast (”Electrify This!”), nonprofits including Rewiring America, and a wave of new state and local legislation.
“We’re seeing huge pushes for policy,” Mifsud said. “Eighty local governments have already passed policies advancing building electrification in 11 states and D.C.”
On the federal level, the Inflation Reduction Act — signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday and the single largest climate investment in the nation’s history — includes $161 billion for clean electricity and about $80 billion for electric vehicles and home energy-efficiency improvements. More than $8 billion is set aside to help consumers pay for home electrification, energy efficiency upgrades and high-efficiency electric appliances.
And in Chicago, the City Council is considering an ordinance that would require that all new buildings be wired for electric appliances and water heaters.
In interviews with Chicagoans who have gone all-electric in their homes or taken major steps in that direction, many said they worked in green fields such as sustainable architecture and environmental law, and all cited concerns about climate change.
Brian Bedwell, an actuary in Logan Square, added that he’s interested in reducing reliance…
Read More: Some Chicagoans going all-electric at home to fight climate change