Why you should ditch deadly fossil-fuel appliances | Donnel Baird
Feb 16, 2024
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Energy upgrader Donnel Baird discusses the need to retrofit millions of buildings with all-electric equipment to combat the negative environmental and health effects of fossil-fuel appliances. Topics covered include the potential benefits of transitioning to cleaner energy indoors, the importance of greening buildings to combat the climate crisis, the challenges and opportunities of building electrification, collaboration with the Bezos Earth Fund, and the significance of AI and cost-effective solutions.
Transitioning buildings to cleaner energy sources can significantly reduce emissions and improve public health outcomes.
Amortizing the upfront cost of electrification and training individuals from vulnerable backgrounds can address challenges in building electrification projects.
Deep dives
The Importance of Greening Buildings
Denel Baird, CEO of BlockPower, emphasizes the significance of transitioning buildings to cleaner and safer energy sources. With 125 million buildings in the US, which contribute to 30% of emissions, Baird argues that greening existing buildings is crucial for responding to the climate crisis. By replacing fossil fuel equipment with smart, all-electric systems powered by renewable energy sources, such as induction ovens and cold climate heat pumps, buildings can be unhooked from fossil fuels entirely. This approach can reduce emissions, improve public health outcomes, and create job opportunities.
Overcoming Challenges in Electrification
Baird acknowledges that electrifying buildings comes with challenges. The upfront cost of electrification is often unaffordable for many Americans. To address this, BlockPower has found ways to amortize and spread out the cost over 15 years through mortgage financing. Another challenge is the shortage of skilled electricians and technicians. BlockPower collaborates with organizations to train and hire individuals from vulnerable and low-income backgrounds for building electrification projects. Additionally, data collection and analysis play a crucial role in determining the right equipment for each building. BlockPower works with partners to aggregate and provide access to data on all 125 million buildings across America.
Scaling Electrification Nationwide
BlockPower is actively working with cities like Ithaca, New York, San Jose, and Menlo Park to achieve 100% decarbonization by 2030. Through partnerships with cities like Portland, Denver, Atlanta, and Chicago, BlockPower aims to electrify buildings at scale. The vision is that electrifying one building can lead to electrifying entire blocks, neighborhoods, cities, and eventually, the whole country. By setting an example and inspiring others, BlockPower aims to accelerate the reduction of emissions and mitigate the damaging impacts of the climate crisis.
In the US, people spend the overwhelming majority of their time inside buildings that burn fossil fuels, which are bad for both the environment and human health. (Think: breathing in air pollution from gas stoves, furnaces and water heaters.) If we're going to fix this problem, we need to retrofit millions of buildings with all-electric equipment, says energy upgrader Donnel Baird. Hear about his ambitious plan to rip the fossil fuel infrastructure out of aging buildings and upgrade it with smarter, cleaner, healthier technology.