We are excited to introduce our new trusted partner, RENU! With RENU, we now offer low-cost financing for all of our projects. Starting at 3.5% and zero-money down, RENU makes it more affordable than ever to invest in electric home upgrades for your home!
What is RENU?
The Colorado Residential Energy Upgrade (“RENU”) Loan is a statewide residential loan program sponsored by the Colorado Clean Energy Fund. It makes home upgrades easy and affordable with low-cost, long-term financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements.
RENU helps homeowners save money on their energy bills by improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. RENU-eligible home upgrades also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
What Home Upgrades Qualify?
Qualifying home upgrades include: heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, efficiency & weatherization upgrades, and ventilation & indoor air quality controls.
Who Qualifies?
To qualify for RENU, homeowners must both own a single-family or multi-family home in Colorado and meet certain income requirements. The loan amount and terms depend on the borrower’s specific energy upgrades and creditworthiness.
How Can Homeowners Apply?
To apply for RENU, homeowners must complete an application and provide relevant documentation such as proof of income, proof of ownership, and a detailed list of their selected home upgrades. A loan officer will review the application and determine whether the borrower is eligible for the loan.
Our friendly team at Elephant Energy will be with you every step of the way to streamline financing with RENU as well as rebate optimization through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives (we have a guide on that, here!) We will help you achieve the best home upgrades with the lowest possible price tag.
To learn more about our team and mission, click here. To learn more about RENU Financing, visit their website here.
Fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act, innovative Colorado-based climate tech company is scaling its platform designed to make electrification upgrades seamless.
BOULDER, Colo., November 30, 2022 –Elephant Energy, the leading home electrification platform for homeowners and contractors, recently closed a $3.5M seed round led by Building Ventures, with participation from Daniel Gulati, Workshop, Reuben Munger, and others.
Elephant Energy was founded in 2021 to simplify residential electrification – said differently, make it easy for homeowners to get off of gas. Home-electrification projects are notoriously difficult, as they require the coordination of multiple trades, and very few contractors have the necessary expertise. Elephant Energy is building a two-sided marketplace that will make electrification approachable for both homeowners and contractors.
The company’s technology platform is grounded in building science and enables Elephant Energy to manage the implementation of electrification projects, from tip to tail. Customers receive a personalized roadmap that illustrates the path to full home electrification – all at once, or over time. Then, Elephant Energy handles equipment selection and system design and orchestrates the installation process, which is completed by a network of vetted contractors. The company also helps homeowners secure financing and maximize the mosaic of incentives available from various sources, including utilities players and government funding.
Beginning in January, the Inflation Reduction Act will allow homeowners to deduct up to $2,000 from their taxes for electric upgrades, making it more affordable than ever to replace old furnaces, water heaters, and gas stoves with efficient electric heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, and more. That’s on top of rebates of up to $4,000 already available locally in markets like Colorado, where Elephant Energy operates.
Heather Widman, partner at Building Ventures, commented, “The climate impact of residential electrification is massive, but the process has been complicated and challenging to navigate for even the most determined homeowners. Elephant Energy’s platform provides a streamlined, approachable solution that will unlock these home renovation projects at scale — enabling the widespread electrification we need at this critical time.”
Elephant Energy Co-founder DR Richardson said, “Home electrification is a win-win-win: more comfortable for homeowners, healthier for humans, and better for the environment. The IRA incentives coming online next year will be the rocket fuel that takes electrification mainstream.”
The funds will be used for hiring, product development, and expansion within and beyond Colorado. “This capital raise will allow us to dramatically scale home electrification and accelerate the transition to a cleaner future,” Richardson added.
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About Elephant Energy
Founded by DR Richardson and Josh Lake in 2021, Elephant Energy is a climate tech company on a mission to electrify everything, starting with homes. The company’s platform uses building science expertise and proprietary technology to help homeowners confidently upgrade their home appliances to modern electric technologies, lowering carbon emissions in the process. Elephant Energy currently serves the Boulder-Denver metro area, with additional markets opening in 2023. Learn more at elephantenergy.com.
Josh Lake & David Richardson – Elephant Energy Founders – November 2022
We’re on a mission to build a sustainable planet by electrifying everything, starting with homes.
Why? Because humans have a narrow window of about 10 years to make real progress on the energy transition before our planet becomes unrecognizable. Electrifying Everything in our homes (think space heating, water heating, clothes drying, and cooking) is a keystone of the decarbonization puzzle, though so far this space is what we often largely overlook. We started Elephant Energy with a clear purpose: dramatically accelerate progress towards full residential electrification.
So, how did we get here?
Rewind to 2007. We met working at a strategy consulting firm in Boston, but left within two years as we both wanted to dedicate our careers to a more impactful mission than advising large telecom and media companies. For both of us, our mission’s focus is on the environment and the energy transition. DR went on to build a sustainable investment firm, and Josh became a climatetech 1.0 entrepreneur/operator.
Since that time (26 years, combined!), we have invested in and built companies at the forefront of the Electrify Everything movement: solar energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and more. And through this work, it’s become clear to us that there are Four Pillars to the Clean Energy Transition. In order to reach net zero by 2050, we must:
Deploy (much!) more wind and solar (rooftop and utility-scale).
Manage the volatility of wind and solar (the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow).
Transition 100% of new vehicle sales to EVs (kick that gas habit).
Transition 100% of new building appliances to electric (#ElectrifyEverything — think heating/cooling, water heating, cooking, etc.).
Now what?
If we can do those four things over the next 10 years, we will be on a path to reduce carbon emissions by more than 75% and thus we will have a fighting chance at staving off the worst impacts of climate change. Otherwise, other emerging tech (green hydrogen, carbon capture and sequestration, etc), won’t matter because it will be too late. If we don’t meaningfully accelerate the pace of our progress against these four pillars now, our planet will look very different in as little as 10 years.
Of the above pillars, the #ElectrifyEverything movement is by far the biggest laggard and contributes about one-third of total carbon emissions. The crazy thing is, there is no reason to wait: we already have all of the hardware and technology we need to electrify homes: heat pumps, induction stoves, rooftop solar, electric vehicles and heat pump water heaters. And these electric technologies are truly better for consumers: more comfortable, more affordable, healthier, and safer.
So far, a platform does not exist at scale that meaningfully reduces carbon emissions from homes. With this in mind, we are building Elephant Energy — a company on a mission to tackle this overlooked sector and #ElectrifyEverything, starting with homes. Climate change is the elephant in the room, and we can’t afford to wait.
Why should we Electrify Everything?
Today, most water and homes are heated with natural “fossil” gas (aka the super potent greenhouse gas methane) or other fossil fuels (propane, fuel oil, etc.). Most vehicles are powered by gasoline and diesel. And most of our outdoor appliances and power tools run on gasoline.
There is a better way. We must Electrify … Everything! And FAST!
Let’s break it down:
The “Motor”
The first step is upgrading the “stuff” we use everyday. At Elephant Energy, we’re specifically focused on the infrastructure and technologies (HVAC and appliances) that power our homes (some of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels). Converting these systems is particularly challenging because it relies on convincing each individual homeowner — there are 121 million homes in the United States alone — to make the choice to switch and upgrade to all electric appliances.
Let’s define Electrify Everything:
Electrify → Replacing something that consumes fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, propane, fuel oil, methane / natural “fossil” gas, etc.) with an electric version.
Everything → Heating systems, water heaters, clothes dryers, vehicles, and stoves. And lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and even chainsaws.
The “Power House”
In parallel, we need to “Cleanify” the energy sources powering Everything by transitioning to 100% renewable (and nuclear) energy. You may have heard this referred to as “greening the grid.” When we both Cleanify and Electrify, we massively reduce carbon emissions.
A question that some folks have when they think about this is, “Why does it matter if we transition to all electric appliances, if we don’t yet have 100% clean energy to fuel them with?” To that we say, – Electrifying in and of itself is still critical! Even with the energy mix of our current grid, modern electric systems would emit less carbon than their natural gas counterparts in nearly every U.S. household. Electric technologies are also much more efficient, as they consume less than one third of the energy that gas systems require.
And, every new fossil gas appliance that is installed (instead of electric) locks in another 15 years of higher emissions. Last, as we continue to Cleanify our energy sources, electric technology’s ability to reduce carbon will only be amplified.
Electrifying Everything has many other benefits that can greatly improve our daily lives. Here are just a few.
Direct benefits to homeowners:
Cost savings – electric appliances are significantly less expensive to operate, resulting in thousands of dollars of cost savings to homeowners.
Increased home comfort – fewer hot and cold spots and less noise.
Improved indoor air quality – burning methane in your home (including your fossil gas-powered stove!) leads to 42% higher rates of childhood asthma.
Reduced noise pollution – we’re looking at you, old HVAC units and gas leaf blowers!
Increased peace of mind – you get to sleep easier knowing that you’ve made a decision that supports progress on the climate transition.
Broader societal / environmental benefits:
Further reduced methane emissions – by minimizing the production of natural gas, thus reducing leakage from both fracking and pipelines.
Energy independence – deploying wind turbines and solar panels locally reduces our dependence on foreign energy.
What We Need: A Scalable Platform, Purpose-Built to Electrify Everything
We’re building something unique: a team, culture, MOVEMENT, and platform that will unlock the Electrification of Everything. We just raised $3.5M from a great group of investors who believe in our vision and will help us scale our early successes.
Electrification requires the coordination of multiple trades — HVAC, plumbing, electrical — and other specialty contractors like drywall, insulation, and air sealing. We’re bringing it all under one roof to radically simplify the process for homeowners. No more pain from vetting and organizing multiple contractors. We help you design a system to meet your individual goals and needs, maximize incentives/rebates, manage the install and permits, and even offer financing
Software Tools to Simplify The Process:
Our digital-first experience makes it easy to streamline and simplify the process of upgrading your home. Our tools enable our contractor partners to electrify better, using building science to make better decisions instead of relying on typical contractor “rules of thumb.” And once projects are operational, we’re here to ensure the optimal performance of your systems via our monitoring and service platform.
Your Home’s Electrification Roadmap:
Electrify your home all at once — or over time. Most of your home’s systems don’t need to be replaced simultaneously. Instead, we help you create a custom roadmap for your home, so that you can electrify as your systems age and become ready for retirement. This allows you to avoid the midnight emergency water heater replacements that always leave you wondering if you’re getting ripped off. Instead, you can be proactive and make the best decisions for your home and your family.
Curious about your home’s electrification roadmap? Get yours here.
How we’re approaching it:
Great People and Partners:
There’s just something different when you show up for work every day with a greater purpose in mind. Our team and the community of teams we partner with care deeply about the climate, making modern electric technologies accessible and affordable, and having fun.
Operational Excellence:
We are committed to bringing down the cost of installations and improving the homeowner experience through better solution design, internal systems, and processes. Our motto is always be learning! #ABL
Build a Movement:
In the wild, elephants are the trailblazers — their travel clears the paths for others who follow behind them. This is what we are doing here at Elephant Energy: showing every day that electrification can be done, that it can be done at scale, and that we can lead the wayby helping homeowners design their own paths.
And when we’re successful?
There is real impact to be had!
Millions of outdated fossil gas technologies recycled (and many fossil gas systems entirely capped).
Millions of homeowners benefiting from comfortable and healthy all-electric homes.
Millions of good-paying jobs in the trades.
A national brand radically simplifying home upgrades.
And … a MASSIVE dent in climate change by directly eliminating millions of tons of emissions.
We’ve built our careers around the idea that change only happens through the collective effort of stubborn problem-solving. We want to have a HUGE IMPACT. And we firmly believe that transitioning to electric technologies is a win-win-win: better for our planet, our health, and our homes.
We’re super proud of the team we’ve built, the homeowners we’ve helped electrify, and the installer-partners who have helped us deliver projects. But, this is just the beginning. It’s time to build!
Your partners in electrification,
–Josh & DR
Join the Herd: If you are a homeowner interested in transitioning from fossil fuels to modern electric technologies, a future employee looking to make a leap in their career, or a future contractor-partner hoping to evolve and grow your business, please email us at hello@ElephantEnergy.com! #JoinTheHerd #ElectrifyEverything
Winter is coming, and with it a stack of “pancaking” gas-heating rate hikes.New federal cost incentives for home electric installations kick in in January.
BOULDER, CO, Nov. 14, 2022 – Winter is coming, and home-electrification experts locally and nationally are urging homeowners to go electric — as a spike in home gas heating prices coincides with unprecedented new incentives for modern home systems from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Elephant Energy, a Front Range home-electrification provider, is expanding its team and service area in the run-up to 2023 to meet expected demand and recommends homeowners start planning now to go electric in the new year.
This winter, Coloradans’ natural gas heating bills are expected to be double what they were just three years ago, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration data and projections. Natural gas prices are at a 15-year high, and public utilities have been piling on, or “pancaking” rate hikes for years with no sign of stopping.
At the same time, beginning in January, the IRA will allow homeowners to deduct up to $2,000 from their taxes for electric upgrades, making it more affordable than ever to replace old furnaces, water heaters and gas stoves with efficient electric heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves and more. That’s on top of rebates of up to $4,000 already available locally.
“Now is the time to go electric,” Elephant Energy co-founder DR Richardson said. “If your furnace or water heater is 10-15 years old, you should be thinking about upgrading now. Don’t wait until something breaks in the middle of the winter, and you get stuck installing inefficient, last-generation equipment that you have to live with for another decade.”
There are myriad benefits to upgrading from old, gas-burning systems. Upgrading lowers monthly utility bills by hundreds of dollars per year, improves air quality in homes by eliminating harmful particulates from burning gas, and dramatically reduces a home’s carbon footprint. Switching to electric costs less up front than replacing a traditional furnace and air conditioner, and every installation involves a tax credit, rebate, or other incentive.
Jules Kortenhorst is an international expert on energy transition and most recently served as CEO of RMI, an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit organization of energy experts. “Burning gas in buildings is not only a threat to climate action but also to human health, as gas appliances are sources of indoor air pollution,” Kortenhorst said. “The good news is, Coloradans will find that it’s easier than ever to make the switch, and there are significant cost savings to be gained.”
Modern electric technology is efficient, but navigating the installation process on your own isn’t. Elephant Energy is a one-stop shop that uses deep building science and proprietary technology to make it easy for homeowners to confidently go electric. After designing a home-specific roadmap for a customer, Elephant Energy manages every step of the installation process – including applying available tax credits and rebates – to deliver all the benefits of modern, electric upgrades for the best value.
As the nonprofit Rewiring America recently wrote, “It’s important to acknowledge the hardship of this heightened energy burden that will be felt by so many this winter. But it’s incumbent on us to get the facts right. The best solution is to electrify. As quickly and thoroughly as possible.”
Serving the Denver-Boulder corridor since 2021, Elephant Energy is expanding into Fort Collins, with additional markets opening next year. The startup closed on a $3.5M seed round of funding in September 2022, led by Building Ventures, with participation from Daniel Gulati of Treble, and others.
Founded by DR Richardson and Josh Lake in 2021, Elephant Energy is on a mission to build the ecosystem needed to scale residential electrification across millions of homes in Colorado and throughout the United States. The company’s platform provides homeowners and contractors with the resources to diagnose, convert, install, and service modern electrical systems, including heat pumps, hybrid heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, and electric vehicle chargers. Learn more at elephantenergy.com.
EV Charging 101 – The Elephant Energy Guide to Charging Your Electric Vehicle with a Tesla Home Charger or Other EV Charging System
EVs are great, but they need to be charged.
Three Main Charging Rate Types
Level 1 (L1): Slowest rate. Simply plug into a standard wall outlet (120V). Takes 12-60 hours depending on how depleted your battery is – and on how large your battery is. This is done typically at home – I plug in my EV when I get home in the evening and it’s fully charged in the AM for work.
Level 2 (L2): Medium rate. This uses the same outlet as your Dryer (240V). That weird-looking 3 prong outlet. Takes ~6 hours for a full charge. This is typically done at home (you might need an upgrade to your outlets in your garage) or at work.
Level 3 (L3): Fastest rate. Public stations. Takes 30-60 minutes for a full charge and is done at the equivalent of a gas station for EVs. Some companies call these DC Fast Chargers while Tesla calls them Superchargers
Most people charge their EVs at home if they have a garage. If they don’t, they use workplace or public-L3 stations. There are increasingly more and more L3 stations around the country. We personally have a number of friends who have taken 1,000 mi+ road-trips with their EVs with no issues finding a charging station.
EV Charger Recommendations
If you need to buy an EV Charger, we can help you make the best choice for you and your home.
Level 1: probably comes with your car. If you need to buy one, we’d recommend buying a L2 charger. L1 Chargers only cost ~$200 less and therefore the L2 would be more useful. However, if you do want to buy a L1 charger, Clipper Creek makes a well reviewed one.
Level 2: There are a number of different chargers here: different price points, different brands, different features. We work closely with you to help you select the best Level 2 charger for you, your home, and your charging needs.
Level 3: There are a number of companies out there that have networks of charging stations (in many ways, it’s similar to pulling up to a BP or a Shell gas station). Charge Point, Electrify America, and EVgo are the largest. We like EVgo the best for both convenience and price.
Which Level 2 EV Charger should I install at my home?
A EV charger installed at home gives you an amazing superpower: a “full tank” every morning.
Some EV chargers can do even more than that. Tesla home charger from companies like Tesla, Chargepoint, JuiceBox, and WallBox are rapidly advancing and may include smart capabilities, such as:
Charging speed
Smart charging
Optimized charging
Balance charging multiple EVs
Power your home
Charging Speed & Amperage
An EV charger fills your EV battery quickly by operating at higher voltage and amperage than is possible from a normal outlet. Instead of 8-12 amps from a normal outlet, an EV charger runs at 32 amps or more. Different EV chargers have different maximum speeds, measured in amperage.
For example, the Chargepoint Home Flex can operate at a range of 16 amps all the way up to 50 amps. Wallbox and Juicebox, plus the Tesla Wall Connector, also offer up to 48 amps.
Is it worth paying more for higher amperage?
Higher amperage typically means faster charging. For example, if you have an Audi Q4 e-Tron, it will take about 10 hours to go from 0% to 100% battery with a 32 amp charger. With 60 amps, this would be closer to 7 hours. Other EV’s will be roughly similar depending on battery size.
The slower charge might work fine – because if you plug in at 8pm, you might not care if your car is fully charged by 3am as long as it’s ready by 6am. And most days, you probably will only be partially refilling your battery – say from 60% to 100%.
However, as EV battery pack sizes increase, we want to make sure the Tesla home charger you choose for your home works not just this year for for years in the future. For this reason, we often recommend opting for higher amperage chargers when there is sufficient electrical service on your electrical panel to accommodate this.
Smart Charging
Some utilities offer Time of Day or Time of Use billing. You’ll want to make sure you’re only charging at the low-priced hours. If not, you might end up paying as much for fuel as it’d cost to drive on gas – ugh!
Some EV chargers have WiFi connectivity and intelligence to both schedule your charging to fit cheaper times of day, and receive signals from utilities to further optimize your charging (with your permission). This ensures your EV charges at the lowest cost.
Juicebox offers some of the most sophisticated programs in this regard. The Chargepoint Home Flex and Wallbox Pulsar and Pulsar Plus also have smart charging options. Lower cost options like Amazon Basics and Clipper Creek typically don’t have smart charging.
Optimized Charging
In addition to charging at the cheapest times, you may want to charge your car with the cleanest electricity that comes from renewable sources.
If you have solar panels on your home, you may want to charge midday so you can power your car directly from the sunshine hitting your roof. Alternatively, you may want to charge when there is the greatest concentration of renewable energy on the main electricity grid.
JuiceBox has this feature for a slight add-on to the normal charger price. If you’re adding solar panels to your home, the unique Span smart electrical panel allows you to install the Span EV charger and optimize charge directly from your solar panels.
Balancing Charging For Multiple EVs
Before too long, you might run into a great problem to have – charging multiple EVs in one household. Some EV chargers, like the Wallbox Pulsar Plus automatically balance the charging to avoid issues.
Some new EV chargers can help solve this by modulating their charging in relation to what else is going on in the home. This way you never exceed the limits and cause anything to short out. We also can help you install separate load controllers if the EV charger you prefer doesn’t come with this capability.
For charging multiple EVs, Wallbox’s Pulsar Plus, JuiceBox chargers, and Tesla home charger excel. Chargepoint, Clipper Creek, and Amazon typically don’t come with this feature.
Power Your Home in a Blackout
A growing number of electric cars allow you to power equipment via an outlet or the charge port. With a “bi-directional” charger, and compatible vehicle, you’ll be able to power your home with your car!
An EV battery stores enough energy to power an average home over 3 full days. This means that a bidirectional charger can function as actual backup power and could save you the cost of a generator for your home (which can run thousands of dollars).
A few emerging EV chargers are available with this amazing feature. If you get the right charger and the right car that allows it, power outages could be a thing of the past.
While no Tesla home chargers are yet on the market with residential bi-directional charging capabilities, there are a few slated to come to market soon, including the Wallbox Quasar and the Dcbel R16.
Finding Charging Stations Away From Your Home
If you can’t charge your EV at home, here are three super useful tools for finding EV charging stations:
1. PlugShare has a map of EV chargers near you (we guarantee there are more than you think there are!) – as well as a vibrant community of users that provide useful information around accessibility, how to find them in a parking lot, etc.
2. Google Maps now has EV stations and a really nifty tool that will automatically route you to the nearest charging stations based on your route.
3. Your own vehicle! Many vehicles (especially Teslas) have onboard maps with the locations of dedicated and public stations. Some free, some pricey.
All these tools are super useful for navigating (literally!) how and where to charge your EV.
Ready to get started, contact Elephant Energy and we’ll help guide you through the decision on what EV Charger is right for you.
Curious where to start your electrification journey?Get Your Electrification Roadmap here!
In the Front Range and want a quote from us? Click here to get an instant estimate!
We installed our second electric Heat Pump in Boulder, CO to help a customer solve their home comfort issues! Huzzah! Did you know that we can install smaller mini split heat pumps too?
Here’s the finished outdoor condenser. For this project, we went with a 3 ton Bosch system rated for cold weather.
And here’s the air handler downstairs in the crawlspace
TL;DR: Heat Pump installations are complex and customized. Find great, experienced contractors who know what they’re doing and run a great process to ensure good design, safety, and success. It makes a HUGE difference.
#1 Plan early & design thoughtfully! A “Heat Pump” is more than just a condenser + air handler. You likely also need refrigerant lines, refrigerant, a compatible thermostat/wiring, 240V electrical circuits, condensate pumps/drains, pipe insulation, risers, mounts, and more.
Connecting the ducts takes some real skill – building airtight connections that are built to last
When in doubt, “RTFM”! = Read the Freaking Manual. Each manufacturer is a bit different and thus each install takes a bit of on-site customization and problem solving.
#2 A good installation and commissioning process catches oversights (and mistakes, like a missing thermostat wire). A good contractor will have a lengthy commissioning document to ensure the installation has been done right and the system is functioning appropriately.
3rd: Go above and beyond customer expectations.
Demolition (though fun) produces a lot of debris: old duct work, screws, wire insulation, dirty condensate water, the furnace itself, flues, cardboard boxes, etc. Leaving the customer home cleaning than you found it is an A+ – and almost no one gets an A+. Cleaning up takes time but is a must for a great customer experience.
But it is all worth it to help customers with home comfort, improve their lives and air quality, and make an impact on the environment. That’s one more gas furnace replaced with an electric heat pump!!!
Are you in need of upgrading you home’s heating and cooling / air conditioning system? Get in touch to see if a heat pump or mini split heat pump will work for you (hint: they work for everyone!). Elephant Energy specializes in modernizing homes with the latest, greatest, energy-efficient technology. We upgrade homes to maximize home comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency, with heat pumps, mini-splits, induction ranges, EV chargers, and air filtration.
Contact us to learn more about your heat pump installation today!
More Hot Water – As the family has grown, the water demands have increased so we installed a larger tank. Hot showers for everyone! And maybe the occasional bath. Treat yo’self!
Increased Safety – Added a thermal mixing valve (aka anti-scalding device) to protect kids from burns . Also added a thermal expansion tank to reduce the risk of over-pressurizing the tank.
Enhanced Control – Onboard thermometer allows you to control the temperature in the tank . Plus put the unit in “vacation” mode so you aren’t heating water when you’re away .
More Resilient – Anti-Leak guard w/ automatic shutoff in the event of a leak = peace of mind that your home won’t flood .
Lower Operating Costs – This beast is 3x+ more efficient than non-heat pump water heaters. Reduce the amount of money you send to fossil gas fracking by $100s per year .
More Flexible – You can choose how quickly and efficiently water is heated by toggling between high demand (faster, less efficient heating with electric heat strip) vs. normal demand (slower, more efficient heating with the heat pump). or
Smarter – Ever wondered how much your water heater was costing you? With the app, you can see your energy usage (data!) and know for sure how much that 25 min shower is costing you.
Cost Savings – In Boulder, Colorado, there are ~$2,000 in rebates and incentives for transitioning away from “natural” aka fossil gas to the BETTER electric heat pump units.
If any of these speak to you, we’d love to help YOU with water heater repair and upgrade your home with a new heat pump water heater! Elephant Energy is your go-to source for energy-efficient upgrades to your home. We make homes more efficient, cleaner, and more comfortable with heat pumps, mini-splits, EV chargers, induction ranges, and air quality improvements. Contact us for a quote today!
Induction – Junction, What’s Your Function? Induction Stove Install
Following @curious_founder’s awesome research on gas stoves, we’ve seen a significant increase in interest in induction stove and ranges. Fun install in mid January where we got to swap out a gas range for a new, ultra-efficient, modern induction range. #electrifyeverything
Removing a gas cooktop and replacing it with induction stove on the surface requires simply removing the old unit, dropping in the new one, and capping the gas line.
Behind the scenes though, it can require a lot more – especially to get the electrical wiring right!
Running electrical often means cutting into drywall. And then patching it up.
And, before you know it, now you’re cooking with an induction stove! It’s the most efficient, precise, and SAFE way to cook. Plus, cleaning is a breeze! Read more: http://switchison.org/cooking
If you are #InductionCurious, get in touch to see if this upgrade is the right fit for you and your home. Elephant Energy helps homeowners get energy-efficient upgrades to make your home cleaner and comfortable. We specialize in energy efficiency projects, heat pumps, mini-splits, induction ranges, and EV chargers.
Do you have a guest room, addition, or office that isn’t served well by your existing system? Never warm enough in the winter…never cool enough in the summer? Consider a Mini Split Air Conditioner.
A ductless mini split air conditioner heat pump may be the perfect, energy-efficient solution, even in cold climates like Boulder! We recently installed a mini-spit for one of our customers to take her new addition from the worst room in the house to the best.
We installed a mini-split for the amazing @KatieS in her guest room. Turns out, the previous owners added on the room, but without any ducting…no heat or A/C?! Perfect application for a mini-split! Efficient heating & cooling all in one plus many home comfort benefits.
Mini-splits are awesome: Sized for the exact heating and cooling load of the room, they blend into the background and create a cozy, quiet, and controllable room. Precise temperature control where there was none before. Super energy-efficient technology that even works when it’s -10°F out .
Superior control and comfort: They are super flexible to fit your needs: Multiple operating modes, fan speeds, and airflow directions so you can dial in comfort! Plus a built-in sensor scans the room to determine the optimal heating/cooling strategy based on the size, occupancy, temperature, and movement.
They improve air quality (and health): How? Mini split air conditioner have multi-stage filtration (Nano Platinum + Deodorizing + Electrostatic Anti-Allergy) to reduce odors, dust, bacteria, viruses, pollen, allergens, and other particulates. You can add HEPA filters for even cleaner air.
Straight forward installation: Run an electrical circuit to the outdoor heat pump ‘condenser’ (we used a cold-climate unit from @MitsubishiHVAC ). Mount the unit above the snow line. Connect the refrigerant ‘lines’ and electrical to the indoor unit. Finally, install the interior ‘head’ in an aesthetically-pleasing and functional location.
Rebates: We helpe d the customer maximize various incentives, rebates, and credits from federal, local (@bouldercolorado & @bouldercounty), and electric utility (@XcelEnergyCO) providers. $1,600 for this project alone! Colorado’s @EnergySmartYES provides a great service for helping homeowners access rebates!
Voila! You now have a new ‘most comfortable room in the house’ fully controllable with a remote control or an app from the comfort of your bed.
Get in touch if we can help you solve heating, cooling, comfort, or air quality challenges in your home!
As we’ve discussed in the past, a Heat Pump system is a critical technology for fighting climate-change. They provide heating AND cooling, electrically, at much higher efficiencies than traditional ways to heat and cool. They’re awesome! And so we installed our first one – in snowy Boulder, CO – to learn deeply about how to help homeowners #ElectrifyEverything and fight climate change.
We wrote a Twitter thread 🧵 on them – check it out and give it a share!
Key Learnings:
#1 Super important to work with the customer to understand their goals:
Reduce fossil fuel use for heating
Improve home energy comfort in the 3rd floor nook office (subject to very uneven heating and cooling)
Work with a partner who could manage the whole process turnkey
#2 Sizing the unit properly is ESSENTIAL
We had a home performance company do a blower door test and run manual J calcs to determine load calcs. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT to a successful outcome.
#3 You never know what you’re going to find in a previous install 🙂
Demolition time! When we removed the PVC flue vents, we found an old wasps nest! Fortunately, no wasps were harmed as the nest looked long-abandoned. Things got a bit dirty.
#4 Contractor selection matters!
While the heat pump system was installed according to the spec, the contractor didn’t pay attention to the details we think are important for delivering an A+ customer experience: i.e they left some of the insulation uninstalled and didn’t use mats on our hardwood floors.
#5 Systems and Design thinking is critical
Several electricians recommended the simplest / easiest solution for a specific goal (i.e. get 240V of power to the Air Handler). They didn’t think to re-use existing wiring nor did they discuss what else we might electrify in the home (induction stove and heat pump water heater are next!). Approaching the design based on long-term goals is important for the best, cost-effective long-term outcome.
#6 Heat pump technology really works!
So far, it’s been awesome and borderline magical! The customer has been super excited about the comfort delivered by the heat pump system. The fan is quiet and runs for more time, distributing heating more evenly throughout the home. Fewer cold spots so far this winter!
#7 Combustion is smelly.
Customer has noticed that the smells that came out of the vents when the heat kicked on are now gone! They thought it was just a “feature” of the house. Apparently it’s a “bug” caused by burning natural gas.
#8 Rebates matter.
Not all contractors are approved installers under various incentive programs from the electric utility and city/county. The list of contractors who are approved for both Xcel AND Boulder incentives is ~5. We left some money on the table with Xcel incentives. Do your research before selecting a technology and contractor partner!
#9 Top take-away?
There is a LOT of opportunity to make this simpler, easier, lower cost for the consumer, all while helping them reduce their impact on the environment and making their homes more comfortable and cozy. This is the first, very meaningful, step in #HomeElectrification. For other homeowners, it might be an EV charger, water heater, or induction oven.
We’re super excited to help homeowners upgrade their homes with the latest, energy-efficient technology to help them on their Climate Journey.
