I Want to Electrify… But Can I?
Let’s imagine you just bought a house. It’s 2,500 square feet and has a great view – it even has a little front patio! Unfortunately, it has a fossil fuel boiler in the basement and [...]
Now We’re Cooking with… Electromagnetism!
There is perhaps no household appliance more contentious than stoves. For decades, venerated chefs and casual home cooks alike have weighed in on whether gas or electricity is the superior option for sautéing garlic or [...]
The Best Defense is a Good… Heat Pump?
We’re only part of the way through June and it’s already a huge month for heat pumps. Maybe even the biggest yet. On June 6th, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to rapidly [...]
Green Building Standards 101
You may have come across terms like net zero, zero net energy, or Passive House and wondered: what's the difference and why are they important? Today, I’ll walk you through each one and explain [...]
Northeast Leads the Charge to Electrify the Built Environment
Buildings are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Northeast, trailing only transportation. In dense metropolitan areas, buildings are responsible for as much as two-thirds of all emissions, as is the [...]
Something Old, Something New – District Heating in the 21st Century
Geothermal district heating (GDH) might sound like some modern technological marvel. However, this is far from the case. Almost 700 years ago in the volcanic Auvergne region of France, denizens of Chaudes-Aigues used wooden pipes [...]
Measuring the Impact of Fuel Switching and Substitution Policies on Fossil Fuel Use
Introduction Direct fossil fuel combustion in residential and commercial buildings accounts for approximately 13 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Due to recent technological and market advancements, low-carbon [...]
Go Big or Go Home: Decarbonizing our Largest Buildings
As you might have heard, Washington State passed an exciting new building code on April 22nd. Beginning next year, all new commercial buildings and multifamily residences over four stories must be outfitted with electric heat [...]
Trends in Residential Heat Pump Adoption in the United States
Electric heat pumps have become an increasingly popular option for efficient heating and cooling in residential homes across the country. In many cases, replacing the existing fossil fuel based heating system with an electric [...]
Greener, Smarter, Healthier – An Intro to BlocPower
“We now know that we can do for buildings what Tesla is doing for cars; we can take the fossil fuel equipment out of a building in the same way that Tesla has removed it [...]