With their furnace and central air conditioner both nearing their 20-year mark, Adam and Monica attended a Pocket Changemakers Social, hoping for support and inspiration. Today, they are Changemakers themselves, and they’ve joined the growing number of homeowners in the Pocket with a 100% electric home - and it only cost them $15,000. Read on to learn how they did it.
Simple insulation can be a game changer. When these homeowners moved into the Pocket, they were paying $500/month for gas and their home was cold and drafty in winter. Today, they've cut their gas use in half and more than halved their home's carbon footprint. They've also made huge gains in terms of their own comfort. Here's what they did...
Stefan, Ellie, and their dog Ernie recently installed a heat pump after finding out their furnace was near the end of its life. Here Stephan shares the results of their switch (spoiler alert: they are very happy with it, and love the fact that they have cooling now too). He also outlines the steps anyone can expect to go through when getting a heat pump.
Pocket Change Chair David Langille completed some key insulation work in the first part of his deep retrofit. Now in part 2 of his journey, he shares his experience getting an air source heat pump for his home. Don't miss this valuable presentation about the steps he took and retrofit industry professionals he used - and his early heat pump results.
The Pocket Change Project's Retrofit Coach, Paul Dowsett, made the ultimate green move with his own home recently - he got completely off fossil gas for his space and water heating needs by replacing his gas boiler with an air source heat pump and adding air conditioning (via another heat pump) to his second floor. Oh, and did we mention he had three kinds of radiators - and kept them? Read on to learn how he did it.
When it became clear to Pocket Change Chair David Langille that his home was contributing to climate change, he knew it was time for a deep retrofit. On part 1 of his journey, David shares his tips relating to the insulation work he began with and the quotes he got for his next stages.
It took “Pocket adjacent” homeowner Chris about 12 years to do a deep retrofit on his home, complete with an air source heat pump, solar panels, and an EV charging outlet, among many other things Now his home is a model of retrofit innovation, and he is celebrating a major milestone - his home is now net-zero! In this video, Chris shares how he did it and what he learned along the way.
Wendy’s furnace broke down in the middle of January. With temperatures well below zero and the help of numerous space heaters and long underwear, she and her partner decided to replace it – and are now happy heat pump owners.
His old house was completely uninsulated in parts and had a drafty front door. But after a deep retrofit, Jeb was able to lower his natural gas consumption by more than 1/3 despite having more people living in the house.