Electrifying your home is about to get a lot cheaper.
Electrifying your home is about to get a lot cheaper.
Rebates from the IRA could help low- and middle-income households save thousands on heat pumps, weatherstripping, and other efficiency improvements.
Unfortunately a lot of the damage of climate change is done and mitigating the rest of it will require a lot more attention and effort than our governments are giving so far. The fight is still only beginning and we're starting from a losing position.
All of that said, given the current political climate and the nature of just how difficult it is to pass basically any meaningful climate legislation, this should still be applauded as a great step in the right direction. It disappoints me that this isn't being reported by bigger, more visible news outlets. Almost as if the narrative that both parties are equally ineffective and neither one passes any noteworthy legislation is better for the business of writing clickbait political analysis to keep readers of all backgrounds bringing in views and also goes a long way in convincing fossil fuel companies to keep buying that juicy ad space.
Having a home to electrify, on the other hand…
I always worry about rebates like these just making an incentive for resellers to keep prices artificially high. The last company I got a quote from for an air source minisplit heat pump system said it would cost upwards of $13k, which even after all available rebates was still roughly the same as the quote they gave me to install a conventional ducted furnace/AC and air handler from scratch.
Yup- solar panels magically stay the same price AFTER applying all rebates, even though they've changed a few times.
I got a quote for a heat pump and air handler (already have ductwork) for 24k, insanity.
Oh. This is just about the US, it’s not a technological breakthrough.