Why Electrify?

In the US and western countries, pretty much everyone has electricity in their homes. But it’s not the only source of energy - most homes also have natural gas, and some homes use other sources, such as oil or propane. And of course 89% of cars use gasoline.

So why change?

First reason: You can save money.

Utility costs for energy are rising, and expected to continue rising. Here’s projection that was created by the California PUC in 2022, showing that all energy costs are expected to increase above the rate of inflation:

But, you can beat this - because, there’s another important trend - the decreasing cost of producing energy from the sun, with solar panels, has crushed most other sources:

And you can put solar panels on your roof!

As an example of how this can play out, I recently upgraded my house to solar, battery, insulation, heat pump water heater, and a few other things – here's my total home energy costs over the past 12 years - showing the increase, and then how these improvements knocked the monthly bills down.

Now, the bill hadn't just increased on it's own, we added air conditioning (the house didn’t have any) in 2017, and an EV in 2019... so part of the increase is due to increased usage in addition to higher gas and electric rates (but my actual rates went +50% in the last 5 years).

Second Reason: Self-reliance, resilience, comfort.

With electrification that includes solar panels and a battery, you’re no longer dependent on the grid - so, you can deal with power outages and keep going. Storms, accidents or Public Safety Power Shutoffs don’t leave you in the dark.

You also have a choice - you can use power from the grid (which means your paying for it from your local utility monopoly), or you can use what you generate yourself, from the sun. Solar electricity is unique in this way - you can put solar panels on your roof, but it’s not possible to generate your own gas or oil!

Third Reason: Health, Safety, The Environment.

Electricity is safer than gas in your home - it doesn’t burn anything, so there’s no danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, and there’s no flames or fumes created.

Environmentally, there’s no pollution or carbon emissions created in or around your home. Our World in Data has a striking comparison of the safety and environmental impacts of various energy sources:

(The greenhouse gas emissions noted for solar are entirely due to the manufacture, transportation, installation and disposal of solar panels & systems.)

With all of these benefits, why wouldn’t you make the switch?

It turns out, the actual logistics can be quite daunting. I’ll share my experiences so you can learn from them and hopefully make your own journey easier.