Dear Mayor Combs and Council Members,
As a long-time Menlo Park homeowner, and as Founder & Executive Director of the Clean Coalition, I appreciate your environmental leadership and hope you continue to support robust electrification. Given that most existing buildings will be standing for decades longer, electrification requires addressing existing buildings.
My own 100% electrification experience will help illuminate the possibilities of electrifying older homes. The Lewis family 2,500 square foot Menlo Park home was built in 1952 and has a 100 Amp circuit panel from PG&E. Over our nearly 20 years of owning the home, we added two electric vehicle (EV) charging outlets and electrified the following appliances from methane (commonly referred to as natural gas):
* Oven.
* Cooktop (to induction).
* Dryer.
* Space heating (to HVAC heat pump).
* Water heater (to hot water heat pump).
We always selected high efficiency appliances, and our fully electrified home, along with the electrified transportation, all fits within the original 100 Amp circuit panel. Menlo Park is fortunate to have numerous electrification experts, including Tom Kabat and Josie Gaillard, both of whom provided me with advice that avoided any need for a PG&E service upgrade, which would have only added unnecessary delays and expense.
Although the Lewis family temporarily lives in Santa Barbara, we have a young family living in our Menlo Park house, and we are in the process of replacing the original roof and adding solar. The young family, including three children, is thrilled to have a 100% electric home, with its inherent health, safety, and economic benefits. The young family is also excited about the coming solar. As the homeowners, the Lewis family is happy to add these valuable features to our house, whether reaping the benefits directly by living there or indirectly through higher property value and increased rent.
I hope the Lewis family experience proves helpful to your continued environmental leadership, including through aggressive support of robust electrification. Feel free to contact me for further information...
Sincerely,
Craig Lewis
Executive Director
Clean Coalition
Santa Barbara | Menlo Park
650-796-2353 mobile
craig@clean-coalition.org
