Surely we all must do whatever we can to combat climate change. I wonder though about the futility of trying to mimimize methane release from appliance “leakage” (does this really happen?) when the natural sources of methane escape in the world are so humongous: permafrost thawing, swamp gas bubbling, cattle burping, oil field release, refinery release, leaking home gas meters.
My primary concern is the unfair and often unbearable costs of upgrading a home’s appliances and electrical service. Most homes in west Menlo were built around 1948 with all gas appliances, 125-150 amp 240 volt service entries and associated cables. A new furnace alone requires a 100 amp service. A stove 60. A water heater 30. A dryer 30. An EV car charger 40. Then there’s the rest of the house, like the dishwasher and garage door openers, which are high amperage devices running at 120 volts. These appliances together will require a 400 amp service, as well as replacement of interior sub cables and subpanels. Not to mention a heavier cable running from the panel to the pole which PGE must supply, and not for free. All new appliances in an existing home will easily run over $10k and more likely $20k.
Can’t we do FAR better by subsidizing window and insulation upgrades? Or using some Uncle Joe’s stimulus $ to subsidize the installation of EV chargers in multi family housing. Or to protect winter solar access for passive solar heating? Seems to me to be a very simple question to answer.
David Hauk
Menlo Park
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
