Success Story: Electrification with Vicki Gordon

Vicki’s Story

Vicki Gordon lives in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Vicki’s brick two-story home was build in the mid-1900s, and was ready for some upgrades. Vicki wanted to make her home more comfortable by reducing the drafts that she felts in the walls and the windows. Vicki decided to work with Elevate on energy efficiency and electrification upgrades at her home to make it more efficient and comfortable to live in. Elevate worked wtih AT Mechanical to install a heat pump, which heats her home and adds central air conditioning. Elevate also worked with DNR Construction to install attic insulation and complete air sealing at to reduce drafts and prevent heat loss.

Air sealing and insulation is an important first step to complete at a home before electrification measures like heat pumps are installed to ensure that the home is not losing excess heat through gaps, cracks, or leaks. Without a sealed and insulated home, a heat pump will have to work harder than necessary and can become expensive to operate. 

Work Done and Estimated Savings

Work Completed

The following work was completed and services both units at Vicki’s home. The total cost of this work was $106,561 (free to the homeowner).

• Installed attic insulation
• Professionally air-sealed gaps and cracks in the home
• Replaced gas furnace with electric air source heat pumps
• 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: 1,191 therms saved annually
• Estimated Change in Electricity Use: 7,512 kWhs added annually (due to electrification)
• Estimated Change in Cost: $240 annual savings (expected to be more after full electrification and eliminating gas bill)
• Estimated Change in Carbon: 117 metric tons of CO2 saved for the lifetime of the measures (30 years)

Funding

Elevate braided multiple funding streams to cover the upgrades to Vicki’s home at no cost. ComEd supported this work by covering 50% of the costs of electrification work, 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 Vicki.

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.