Is your home retrofit ready?
Why it's worth starting to plan your electric dream home now.
Do you enjoy gazing at paint swatches at the hardware store? Or flipping through home renovation magazines with a strange, dreamy look in your eyes? Just us?
Even if living room makeovers aren’t your thing, we all need to start thinking about the five or six new appliances that we’ll NEED to buy over the coming years…electric ones. When do you get an excuse to think about a new stove AND get the money to pay for it? Um, now. You get that excuse now.
Planning your electric dream home is a practical thing that you really do need to start doing ASAP, so you don’t miss out on incentives and rebates to help you buy spiffy new electric machines when your old ones clunk out.
Get retrofit ready
Going electric is all about the prep work, or getting Rewiring Ready. The cool thing is that this prepwork can be fun! Our tools help you get a sense of what the process looks like, but everyone’s rewire plan will look a little bit different. Take this as your nudge to make your plan today.
Think of the guide as our version of Home & Garden, but with more heat pumps.
Heat pump
It heats, it cools, it cuts fossil fuels! The amazing heat pump is the perfect all-season appliance. One appliance for all your temperature needs. You’ll never need to use an AC unit again! Plus, they’re a super saver for your wallet too. Complete the collection by adding a heat pump water heater and heat pump clothes dryer (pg. 8). IRA offer: tax credit available now for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters! 30 percent credit, capped at $2,000 per year (but resets annually!).
Electric vehicle
Vroom vroom, make some room for your new (or used) electric vehicle (pg. 12)! Ever fallen asleep while pumping gas? (Hope not!) With an EV, you can rest easy as your car charges while you sleep. Say goodbye to oil changes and cut maintenance costs nearly in half.
EVs will quietly (seriously, they’re super quiet) save you money as they’re now three to six times cheaper to drive than gas vehicles. Yowza! EVs are also great conversation starters: “Gas prices are through the roof! I’m so glad I went electric.” Or, “Hey! Want to crack open a cold one while my car charges? It’s electric.” Yes, your friends and neighbors will love you. IRA offer: up to $7,500 tax credit for a new EV, up to $4,000 for a used EV.
Rooftop solar
Take “fun in the sun” indoors with solar panel roofs to power your electric dream home! Bask in the glow of energy savings in a home powered by the sun. Combine it with a battery storage system to keep your power going in the event of a grid outage. IRA offer: uncapped 30 percent tax credit for rooftop solar.
Induction stove
Cut the gas and cook super fast with a shiny, new induction stove (pg. 9)! This cutting edge technology uses a magnetic field to transfer heat directly to your cooking pan, leaving your cooktop so cool you could plant your face on it (but don’t). No more sweating over a hot stove. Breathe easier with this all-around cooking wonder. Plus, they’re fancy. Just ask Jonathan Scott. purple suit sold separately Hot date with a rebate 🔥: when rebates roll out in 2024, they could cover up to $840 of the cost of an electric or induction stove, depending on your income.
Need more inspiration? Our research and policy teams modeled out real-world case studies (pg. 15) to show how different household types can electrify with ease.
From the wire
⚡ An All-Electric Dream Home That Feels Like A Hidden Bushland Retreat, The Design Files
⚡ The Electric Plug-and-Play Tiny House You’ll See Everywhere in 2023, House Beautiful
⚡ Check out the ultimate all-electric, solar powered, storm-resilient neighborhood, Electrek