Success Story: Electrification in Austin with Katherine Parks

Katherine’s Story

Katherine Parks has lived in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago for 10 years. She’s a self-described “homebody” who loves gardening and spending time with her grandkids.

Over the years, Katherine had trouble keeping her house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. She was used to putting plastic sheeting over her winters in the winter to keep drafts from getting in. When her furnace started to fail, she knew she needed to find a replacement to get through the next winter. She decided to work with Elevate to install a heat pump, which heats her home and adds central air conditioning.

Work Done and Estimated Savings

Work Completed

The following work services both units at Ms. Parks’ home. The total cost of this work was $94,745.

• Replaced gas furnace with electric air source heat pump
• Installed new smart thermostat (Ecobee)
• Replaced water heater to electric heat pump water heater
• Electrical upgrades to the service panel
• Replacement of stove and dryer with electric versions planned in next year

Estimated Savings

• Estimated Change in Gas Use: 1,268 therms saved annually
• Estimated Change in Electricity Use: 10,927 kWhs added annually (due to electrification)
• Estimated Change in Cost: $44 annual savings (expected to be more after full electrification and eliminating gas bill)
• Estimated Change in Carbon: 96.6 imperial tons of CO2 saved for the lifetime of the measures (30 years)

Funding

Elevate braided multiple funding streams to cover the upgrades to Ms. Park’s home at no cost. ComEd supported this work by covering 50% of the costs of electrification work at Ms. Parks’ home, as part of their Whole Home Electrification Program. A $3.15 million grant from Wells Fargo grant also helped to support Elevate’s work to decarbonize 100 homes for low- and moderate-income residents like Katherine.

Elevate’s Building Electrification Program

Our Building Electrification Program (BEP) provides financial support and a full support service delivery model for homeowners and multi-family building owners. We remove and replace on-site combustion of fossil fuels for space heating, hot water, clothes drying, stoves, and ovens with clean energy technologies to create a healthier living environment and generate energy and carbon savings. Our program takes an equitable approach to building electrification by providing these upgrades in communities that have historically been under-resourced.

Learn more about the program at ElevateNP.org/Building-Electrification.