“Electrifying” electric resistance heat

Yes, even electric things can be electrified

By Kristin G. Eberhard, JD , Senior Director of Policy, Rewiring America

There is an urgency to upgrade the millions of machines that burn fossil fuels inside our homes. But many homes use old-school electric resistance heat, which must be upgraded too. What does old-school mean, here? Basically, using a toaster to heat your home. Not the best option. OK, it isn’t actually a toaster. Electric resistance heating can come in the form of a furnace, or baseboard heating, but both work on the same principle as a toaster, pushing electricity through coils to generate heat.

Let's start with the benefits to the homeowner. When transitioning from an electric resistance space heater to a heat pump, the most immediate and tangible advantage is the potential for significant cost savings. The average American single-family home would save more than $1,000 per year in energy costs by upgrading from an electric resistance heater to a medium-efficiency heat pump. Efficiency Maine estimates that switching from electric baseboards to a heat pump will save the average Mainer $3,000 per year. 

There are more than 18 million homes using electric resistance heat — that’s 14 percent of our 130 million U.S. homes — so upgrading them all could put a lot of money back into pockets, and into the local economy as those households put the money to use on some other home upgrade or family priority. 

In some cases, homes with resistance heat may have a headstart compared to homes with fossil fuel heat looking to upgrade to a heat pump because they already have the 240-volt outlet needed to plug in the heat pump air handler. This makes it less likely they will need a wiring upgrade, and so they may face an easier and faster installation. 

Because the heat pump heats and cools, it can replace both the old-school electric resistance heater and the home’s AC. The upfront cost of installing a heat pump could range from $15,000 to $19,000, but you will likely recoup around two-thirds of that in your resale value. Add lower energy bills on top of that, and the project payback is pretty great. 

Although it won’t reduce as much pollution as replacing a fuel oil boiler, upgrading from electric resistance to a heat pump is guaranteed to reduce pollution. They both use electricity from the same grid, but the heat pump is more than three times more efficient, and uses less energy. On average, American homes making this switch will reduce about 1.5 tons of carbon pollution per year. That’s equivalent to not burning 170 gallons of gasoline. And in a state relying on dirtier sources of electricity, like Delaware, upgrading from electric resistance to a heat pump can save more than 2.7 tons of pollution per year!

While the benefits to homeowners are compelling, there are broader advantages of swapping out electric resistance heat for heat pumps. As electricity demand from manufacturing and AI continues to grow, so do concerns about the electricity grid’s ability to handle these new strains. Switching from fossil fuel heat to a heat pump will add new demands on the grid — but switching from electric resistance to heat pumps reduces demand. Retiring old inefficient electric resistance heaters at scale could create a buffer, allowing room for other electrical loads to grow. In policy speak, we call that a no brainer.

Summary of benefits of upgrading electric resistance homes to heat pumps:

• Bill savings of $1,000 or more per year
• Pollution savings of 1.5 tons or more of CO2e per year
• A comfier home
• Increased home value
• In many cases, easier installation due to wiring and panel capacity already in place
• Reduced strain on the electricity grid

Have you watched our episode of Extraordinary Electrics? What are you waiting for?

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