From Emily Lowney of Lowney Law and the Medfield Energy Committee –
Electrify your Home with Medfield Energy Committee
The Medfield Energy Committee (MEC) is excited to be partnering with Sustainable Medfield for the next Action of The Quarter this fall: “Electrify your Home.” Climate change is a problem that we are all concerned about, but the good news is that there are solutions. We need to transition away from burning fossil fuels and towards renewable power sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. In 2021, the Town of Medfield Climate Action Plan identified residential buildings and passenger vehicles as the two largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. For this action of the quarter, MEC is encouraging residents to take action to reduce emissions from our residential buildings.
What do we mean when we say “Electrify your home?” Basically, the goal is for all of the energy usage of the home to eventually come from electricity, including heating/cooling, domestic water heating, appliances, lights, and cooking. That way the home no longer relies on gas or oil. If the home is suitable for solar panels, that is a great alternative way to provide the power for the home. But even if it doesn’t have solar, the electric grid is also getting greener at the same time, so that eventually, all of the sources of power are renewable, and all of the homes are using only that renewable energy for all of their power needs. At the same time, technology is helping make our homes more efficient in how they use energy.
Another important aspect of Electrifying homes in Medfield has to do with NEW homes. There is a new building code having to do with energy efficiency that towns in Massachusetts can choose to “OPT IN” to. This is called the Specialized Code, and Medfield would have to vote at town meeting to adopt this code. Again, this only applies to NEW construction, not any existing homes, renovations/additions to homes, or historic homes. The Specialized Code encourages new homes to be built all-electric so that in the future, homeowners will not have to pay to transition those homes. The Specialized Code still allows homes to be built that use some fossil fuels, but requires that they be pre-wired for future electrification, and have on-site solar generation.
The Energy Committee is seeking public input on whether Medfield should adopt the Specialized Code. Please help us by taking a short, four-question survey here: https://forms.gle/QmuJCQ34Jk5PMMFFA
If you are not planning on building a new home, there is still a lot you can do to Electrify your Existing Home. Check out the following Actions at sustainablemedfield.org: Green Heating & Cooling, Rooftop Solar, No-Cost Energy Assessment, Switch to Induction Cooking, and more.
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