Electrification refers to the process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) with technologies that use electricity as a source of energy. Depending on the resources used to generate electricity, electrification can potentially reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the transportation, building, and industrial sectors, which account for 65 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing emissions from these sectors is critical to decarbonizing the economy and, ultimately, mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Electrification asks each of us to decrease our reliability on gas products, which are responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions worldwide by converting elements of our home, businesses and lifestyles to electric reliance. Electrifying your home or business is a step you can take to significantly decrease your carbon footprint – making it an important step for meeting decarbonization goals set both regionally and statewide.

Electrifying Your Home or Business

We can embrace electrification by working to convert the ways our homes and businesses operate internally. For example, heating and cooling HVAC systems can be exchanged for Heat Pump technology that shifts air of different temperatures around your home, as opposed to generating more. Or you might exchange your gas appliances or machinery for electric alternatives – many of such products now being eligible for incentives and rebates – which not only reduces your gas usage, but also decreases the presence of noxious indoor air pollution created when burning fossil fuels in a closed environment.