Electrification and you!
What is Electrification?
Electrification simply means replacing natural gas, propane, or wood appliances with electric ones when they wear out. Modern electric appliances are more efficient, safer, and can be more affordable to operate than their non-electric counterparts. You don't need to replace everything at once - most families and businesses start with one appliance and gradually transition over time.
A common concern about switching to electric appliances is the potential impact on energy costs. While it's true that your electric bill will increase when you replace gas or oil appliances with electric ones, the overall picture is more encouraging. Modern electric appliances are remarkably efficient; heat pumps, for instance, can produce two to three times more heat energy than the electricity they consume by extracting heat from the outside air. The key to understanding electrification costs is looking at your total energy spending: while your electric bill goes up, you'll eliminate or significantly reduce spending on natural gas, propane, or heating oil.
Why Go Electric?
Beyond efficiency, electric appliances offer several valuable advantages. By switching to electricity, you gain protection from the price volatility often seen with natural gas, propane, and heating oil - giving you more predictable energy costs over time. Heat pumps can also boost your home's market value, as today's buyers increasingly prioritize energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. An added bonus: heat pumps serve double duty by providing both efficient heating in winter and effective air conditioning in summer, creating a complete year-round comfort solution for your home.
From an environmental perspective, electrification immediately eliminates fossil fuel burning in your home and can reduce your carbon footprint by 2 - 4 tons per year. As the electric grid continues adding generation resources that lower emissions, such as renewable energy sources, your home’s carbon footprint automatically goes down over time without any additional changes.
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Heat pumps
Heat pumps aren't new technology, they've been reliably heating and cooling homes for more than 50 years. The technology works on the same proven principle as your refrigerator, just in reverse: moving heat from one place to another rather than creating it. This simple, time-tested approach has made heat pumps a dependable choice for millions of homeowners.
One of the biggest practical advantages is system simplification. Instead of maintaining separate heating and cooling systems, like a furnace plus window air conditioners or a central AC unit, a single heat pump handles both jobs year-round. This means fewer systems to maintain, fewer service calls, and less equipment taking up space in and around your home.
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Heat Pump Water Heaters
Heat pump water heaters are remarkably efficient, using up to 70% less electricity than traditional electric water heaters. It only takes a small amount of electricity to power the heat transfer process. In optimal conditions, they can deliver up to 3x more energy in hot water than they consume in electricity. As a bonus, they help dehumidify basements, garages, and utility rooms where they're typically installed.
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Cooktops
When shopping for electric cooking appliances, you'll typically find two main categories: induction and electric cooktops, each with their own advantages.
Induction cooktops use magnetic fields to heat your cookware directly, offering exceptionally fast heating - they can boil water in just two minutes! This technology provides precise temperature control and keeps the cooking surface relatively cool, making it safer and easier to clean. Since only the pan gets hot, your kitchen stays cooler during cooking.
Electric cooktops provide reliable, even heating across the cooking surface. They're straightforward to use, easy to clean with their smooth surfaces, and help keep your kitchen cool during cooking.
Both options offer flameless cooking and can help maintain comfortable kitchen temperatures while you prepare meals.
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Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles are fun to drive, can save you money, and are better for the planet! A Consumer Reports study found electric vehicles can be $6,000 to $10,000 cheaper over the life of the vehicle than comparable gas-powered cars despite the higher upfront cost. A big part of that is savings on fuel and maintenance. Currently, transportation emissions account for 45 percent of Washington’s total carbon emissions, thus switching to an electric vehicle will make an impact!
Get Started
Whichever electrification journey makes the most sense for you, the first thing you want to do is ensure your home is properly weatherized! Ensuring your home has proper insulation and air sealing will make sure your electric equipment performs as efficiently as possible by stopping that hot or cold air from leaking out of your home. Good weatherization means your new heat pump won't have to work as hard, your energy bills will be lower, and you'll be more comfortable year-round.
The easiest way to start your electrification journey is to plan ahead! Before your appliances fail in an emergency situation, consider your alternatives! Begin with your oldest and possibly least efficient equipment and research and select some alternatives. Having electrical work done could be required, so getting estimates ahead of time will help provide the entire picture for the upgrade.
Before making any purchases, research available rebates in your area. State and utility rebates vary by location, and manufacturer rebates often stack with other incentives. Your total savings can be substantial when you combine multiple rebate programs!
Tools and Next Steps
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PSE Rebates
PSE has a few incentive programs to help customers switch their home’s heating from PSE natural gas systems to electric heat pumps. Please review the following options and their respective webpages to review eligibility requirements:
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Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
Nationwide, the 25C tax credits incentivize household electrification by lowering the total cost of qualified electrification upgrades. 25C provides a capped 30 percent tax credit for air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters (HPWHs), qualifying electrical panel upgrades, select weatherization measures, and energy audits. These tax credits expire on December 31, 2025. For more information, please visit the Department of Energy webpage.
Additionally, Washington State Department of Commerce facilitates IRA funded income-qualified rebate programs:
Electric cooktops provide reliable, even heating across the cooking surface. They're straightforward to use, easy to clean with their smooth surfaces, and help keep your kitchen cool during cooking.
Home Appliance Rebate Program (HARP): This program provides rebates at the point of sale for income-eligible consumers on a range of highly efficient electric equipment and electrification projects.
Whole Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES): This program provides rebates to homeowners for whole-house energy savings retrofits. Rebates will vary by amount of energy savings and income qualification.
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Local Incentives
Your local community may offer additional incentive programs that can further reduce the cost of electrification. Organizations throughout our service area, including Energize King County, Energy Smart Eastside, Energize Thurston, and the City of Lacey, have provided rebate programs that can be combined with both utility rebates and federal tax credits. These local incentives are often stackable, meaning you can take advantage of multiple programs for the same project to maximize your savings.