Why Electrify Everything?

Why Electrify Everything? In Portland, burning fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas to heat and cool commercial and residential buildings accounts for 56% of Portland’s greenhouse gas emissions. On-road transportation accounts for 30% of Portland’s emissions. People ask what they can do to help meet our climate goals. The answer is to decarbonize homes, businesses, and vehicles. The best way to do that is to electrify everything we can. This is called beneficial electrification.

Why electricity? Maine’s electric grid is one of the cleanest in the country and continues getting cleaner each year. Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) says that 80% of our electricity must come from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Replacing furnaces and appliances that burn natural gas or oil with electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters will take advantage of the decarbonizing grid to dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

What are the co-benefits of transitioning to electric? Electric appliances offer benefits beyond emissions reductions:

• They don’t emit pollutants such as small particles, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that can harm people’s health.
• They save money because they are cheaper to operate and maintain, compared to fossil fuel appliances.
• They are multi-purpose -- air source heat pumps offer heat in the winter and cooling in the summer (no need for a separate AC). Heat pump water heaters also dehumidify (no need for a separate dehumidifier).
• People with driveways or dedicated parking can install an EV charger and charge an electric vehicle at home -- no need to go to a gas station.
• More predictable costs on utility bills. Fossil fuel prices are increasingly volatile and dependent on many global factors.