Copyright 2022 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

Energy costs keep going up — and faster than ever. Gasoline is over $5/gallon, natural gas prices are projected to skyrocket, and PG&E electric rates increased 11% in 2021 and 9% (already) in 2022. Luckily, we have more options than ever for significantly reducing our energy costs.

20 years ago just about all you could do was install a setback thermostat. Now, solar is standard on new homes in California, battery backup systems are popular, LEDs bulbs are all you can buy in most hardware stores, and electric vehicles are ubiquitous.

But when approaching building electrification, how do you figure out what makes the most sense for your home? Should you install a heat pump and induction cooktop first? Should you try some load shifting with incentives from your utility? Should you install solar and storage?

Steve Schmidt with Home Energy Analytics has many of these answers. His company has free software that analyzes your home’s energy use and coordinates with utilities to maximize your savings and grid benefits. A lot has changed since Steve joined us on the Energy Show about three years ago – especially with building electrification.

So please listen up to this week’s Energy Show as Steve shares his insights on home energy usage, as well as the economics and clean energy benefits of electrifying your home.