By Saul Griffith and Sam Calisch, October 2020
Our report shows that the average American household can both fight the climate crisis and save money at the same time. We can do it using existing technology, without sacrificing any of the comforts of home. In other words, we’ll have the same number of cars, ovens, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners and heaters, but at dramatically lower cost and without the indoor and environmental pollution that accompany burning fossil fuels.
If done right, we would create millions of new, well-paying jobs in every zip code, save each household on average between $1,050 to $2,585 per year on its energy bills, and dramatically reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions — all while enjoying zippier cars and smarter appliances.
In this paper, we model two scenarios for decarbonizing the American household. We are showing that if we want a moon shot — zero-carbon energy in every home — here's how to build the rocket.
Media Coverage
New York Times
Ivan Penn
Old Power Gear Is Slowing Use of Clean Energy and Electric Cars
"Ultimately, electrifying cars, heaters, stoves and other equipment currently running on fossil fuels could save an average family $1,050 to $2,585 a year, according to Rewiring America. Those products are more energy efficient and electricity tends to cost less than comparable amounts of gasoline, heating oil and natural gas. Electric cars and appliances are also cheaper to maintain."
New York Times
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico
Guest Essay: Your Next Car and Clothes Dryer Could Help Save Our Planet
"We must start with our homes and vehicles because, according to research from Rewiring America, a nonprofit organization focused on the widespread electrification of the U.S. economy, 42 percent of all of our energy-related carbon emissions come from the machines we have in our households and our cars. To keep global warming at livable temperatures, we need to replace existing machines that use fossil fuels with clean electric substitutes when they reach the end of life."
Los Angeles Times
Sammy Roth
Boiling Point: How Rooftop Solar Could Save Americans $473 Billion
"Rewiring America released a report in October finding that a national transition to solar-powered, fully electrified homes — with electric appliances replacing gas heating and cooking, and electric vehicles replacing oil-fueled cars — could save the average household more than $2,500 per year."
Bloomberg
Todd Woody
Climate-Proofing Your Home: How to Electrify
"In a report released in October, Rewiring America called low-interest government-backed loans key to accelerating home electrification. Calisch and co-author Saul Griffith calculated that offering loans with a 2% interest rate to decarbonize homes would result in savings from lowered energy costs that would far exceed the cost of financing and create millions of jobs."
The Guardian
Oliver Milman
Aggressive Push to 100% Renewable Energy Could Save Americans Billions – Study
"But a new analysis by Rewiring America, an energy policy organization, finds that households would benefit financially from a complete switch to clean energy sources such as solar and wind. More than 40% of energy emissions are determined by appliances in and around the home, according to the report, such as heating, electricity, refrigeration and car use."
HuffPost
Alexander C. Kaufman
Electrifying Homes and Cars Could Save the Climate – and $2,500 Per US Household
"But what if Americans could drive the same miles and blast the A/C to cool single-family suburban homes all summer long and actually reduce U.S. emissions of climate-changing gases by 40%? Not only is it possible, according to a new study, the average household would save up to $2,500 a year and do it with technology that’s on the market today."