Building Solutions
Charting a responsible green pathway from Pennsylvania’s homes and businesses
From Altoona to Yardley, Pennsylvanian families and businesses rely on a wide range of energy sources to stay comfortable throughout the year. This diverse mix can give you peace of mind, because you’ll know that your home and workplace will stay warm in the iciest winter evenings and cool on a steamy afternoon too.
Governments, activists, businesses and homeowners are looking for the best way to shrink the carbon impact of our buildings. Unfortunately, many states and local governments are pushing an extreme electrification agenda that would compel homeowners to get rid of efficient and reliable furnaces and boilers, replacing them with electric heat pumps.
Advocates of full electrification of homes have argued for the removal of non-electric water heaters as well as gas stoves and other appliances.
This is a narrow, irresponsible pathway, and it ignores the amazing advances in efficiency and renewability we’re seeing with traditional fuels.
The problem with heat pumps in Pennsylvania
Electric heat pumps have many worthwhile uses. They generally provide excellent home cooling and are even relatively useful for home heating in the milder fall months. However, when it comes to providing dependable home comfort during periods of sustained freezing weather, many heat pumps struggle. The U.S. Department of Energy, Consumer Reports and other established sources acknowledge that it is often necessary to keep a furnace or boiler as a backup heating option. When a Massachusetts program retrofitted homes for heat pumps between May 2019 and June 2021, 92.8% of the households kept their old gas-fired equipment.
What would Pennsylvania households be expected to pay to add heat pumps that don’t necessarily provide year-round comfort? An analysis of the Massachusetts rebate program found that the total project cost was upwards of $20,000!
Widespread conversion of buildings from traditional heating sources to electric heat pumps will create a heavy new burden on our electric grid. Right now, the largest demand (and the biggest risk of blackouts) happens on the hottest days of summer. Electrification would create similar or greater demand on the coldest days of the year, when the threat to health and safety is worse.
How Pennsylvanians Currently Heat Their Homes
Many Pathways to Low-Emissions Home Heating
Already in use in today’s efficient heating oil equipment, Bioheat fuel is a blend of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil and biodiesel made from organic and recycled feedstocks. Bioheat fuel significantly reduces carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, particulate matter and mercury emissions. Pennsylvania heating oil retailers are already delivering blends with 20% or 50% biodiesel.
And that’s just the beginning. The R.W. Beckett Corporation and Carlin Combustion have developed fully warrantied burners that are compatible with 100% biodiesel. Plus, the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) has piloted the Net Zero Carbon Home Project , a model house using 100% biodiesel for high-efficiency heating and solar panels for air conditioning and other electrical needs. This home shows that Americans can quickly and affordably achieve net-zero emissions without sacrificing year-round comfort!
Propane is already a low-carbon fuel — but it’s becoming even greener.
Renewable propane is chemically identical to conventional propane, but it’s made using organic feedstocks. The resulting fuel typically has roughly one-quarter of the carbon intensity of conventional propane — and 16% of the carbon intensity of the average U.S. grid electricity. Research into innovative feedstocks and blends promises to take that impact even lower!
Production of renewable propane grows each year. It’s already widely used for commercial, industrial and transportation applications. Soon, we expect it to be incorporated into residential equipment.
Natural gas has a small carbon emissions output right now, but we’re seeing some incredible advances in lowering this climate impact even further. The most promising product is renewable natural gas.
This fuel can be used in natural gas equipment without modification, and utilities will be able to drop it into existing gas distribution systems, blended with conventional natural gas. Renewable natural gas comes from organic waste, including manure, food refuse and other landfill material.
Many Pennsylvanian households use electric equipment, including heat pump systems, as their primary heating source. Technological innovations have made these systems more viable in climates like ours. However, some PA families find that their electric heating systems can struggle in periods of sustained freezing weather and choose to have a backup option powered by oil or gas.
[Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration]
Sacrificing efficiency for electrification
Electrifying homes and other buildings disregards the incredible advances in efficiency that we have seen with traditional heating systems and other appliances.
Furnaces and Boilers
Today’s oil and gas heating equipment is better than ever — with fuel efficiency ratings as high as 98.5%! That means you can reliably heat your home while wasting almost no heat energy in the process.
Water Heaters
When new and properly sized, gas water heaters can have considerably faster hot water recovery rates than electric units. Gas-powered tankless water heaters produce virtually unlimited hot water on demand. Indirect-fired water heaters paired with high-efficiency boilers generate some of the lowest-cost hot water possible.
Clothes Dryers
Generally, gas-powered dryers have shorter cycles than electric products. The slightly moist heat that propane and natural gas produce also creates fewer wrinkles, saving you time on ironing.
Ranges and Ovens
Gas-fired cooking products provide efficient, precisely controlled flames. A gas range heats up quickly and cools down fast when you turn off the flame. This is safer than electric elements, which may stay hot long after you’re finished cooking.
Forcing homeowners to remove these efficient and high-performing products in favor of less effective electric alternatives is counterproductive and expensive — and it limits energy choices for Pennsylvania families.
Addressing climate change TODAY with American green energy
Right now, eco-friendly advances in heating oil, natural gas and propane are dramatically lowering the emissions impact of Pennsylvania’s buildings. These amazing carbon-reduction products can be used in equipment without modification!
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration; MyBioheat.com; The Propane Education & Research Council; Diversified Energy Specialists, “Cost of Residential Air-Source Heat Pumps”