Homeowners may be unable to afford their electric bill after upgrading their homes to all-electric appliances.
California has mandated that all new homes built are to be all-electric, and starting in 2030, all new home appliances will be electric. I expect Washington will soon follow California’s lead of all-electric homes and appliances. In addition, Washington has mandated that fifty percent of new automobiles are to be electric.
Sacramento and Washington Democrats possess the power to enact these mandates but cannot, with a pen stroke, rebuild America’s electrical grid.
Families Dependent Upon Unreliable Electricity
American families have met their energy needs for over a hundred years with electricity, gas, and gasoline. Now families are being forced to depend solely on their electric utilities to turn on their lights, cook meals, heat their homes, and fuel their automobiles. That is a true dream for climate activists but a nightmare in today’s world of rolling blackouts.
What happens when a natural disaster destroys a region’s electrical infrastructure? Restoring electricity to a community can take weeks to months. During this time, families will be left cold and hungry in a dark house and unable to drive to safety.
Families Home Mandated Costly Electrical Upgrades
There is more to an all-electric home than just more electrical outlets. A typical 1200-square-foot home with gas heat, stove, and water heater needs a 100-amp electrical service. That same home but with electric heat, stove, and water heater will need a 200-amp service. An Electrical Vehicle charging station (there are levels: one is too slow, two is just right for most drivers, and three is too much) A level two electrical-vehicle charging station will need an additional 50 to 100-amp, therefore a 200-to-300-amp service for the home.
The cost increase for a new 1200-square-foot home with a 200-amp in lieu of a 100-amp electrical service would be approximately $6,500.00, and eliminating the gas piping would be approximately $2,500.00. However, modifying a mixed-energy home to an all-electric would cost approximately $15,000.00.
Family Neighborhoods' Mandated Electrical Grid Upgrades
Washington Democrats can enact laws that require all-electric homes and automobiles, but they cannot counter the laws of physics, specifically Ohms Law. Ohms Law is the relationship between Voltage, Current, and resistance. When the current increases (increased demand by all-electric homes) and voltage remains the same, the resistance increases, limiting the amount of electricity that can pass through the electrical grid. Neighborhood electrical grids will need to be upgraded for all-electric homes.
The electrical grid must be designed and built in new single-family subdivisions to support all-electric homes. The number of electrical transformers per home will increase, from one 50 KVA transformer per four homes to one 50 KVA transformer per two homes. We expect the electrical upgrades will cost approximately $5,000 and $7,500 per home, which will be partially offset by eliminating the natural gas distribution system.
In existing single-family neighborhoods, the typical electrical grid will include one 50-KVA transformer for every four 100-amp homes. If the homes are changed to 200-amp service, then only two 200-amp homes for each transformer. These electrical upgrades will cost approximately $7,500 to $15,000 per home if the electrical conductor does not need to be replaced.
Struggling Families that can least afford the all-electric will pay the most.
Manufactured Homes (MH) and parks (P) are affordable housing for financially struggling families in rural America. Yet our political leaders in Washington ignore those struggling families when they regulate the MH industry (FHA regulates MH construction) without considering the impact on the families attempting to connect to the local utility companies. Washington is encouraging all-electric MH; almost half the 100,000 MH built yearly are all-electric (200-amp service). While many current states (including New Mexico), have construction regulations that do not support all-electric MHP. For example, in an existing MHP in New Mexico, ten MH (electric and gas heat, stove, and water heater) are (by building code) allowed to be connected to one 200-amp service. Then an all-electric MH needing a 200-amp service was moved into the MHP. Now what?
The new MHP will need an electrical grid to support all-electric MH, thus raising rates for those families that can least afford it. The existing MHP may be unable to afford the electrical grid upgrade and be forced to close. I expect any MHP that closes will not be replaced. In Albuquerque, a 200-plus MHP was replaced with expensive homes and apartments with little concern for the residents. Now Albuquerque struggles with affordable housing.
Power to the People
We will soon have families with all-electric homes without electricity and families without affordable homes. It is time for families to take back their power.