Get Started: Smart Energy Options for Every Home
Energy choices affect your comfort, your wallet, and our collective future. At Ava, we’re here to help you navigate clean energy options that make sense for your situation, whether you’re looking to reduce bills, create a healthier home, or do your part for the environment.
Today’s electric technologies aren’t just good for the planet—they’re genuine upgrades to your daily life. Modern electric appliances and systems offer superior performance, enhanced comfort, and more efficiency than their fossil fuel counterparts or outdated electric products. Some changes, like switching to LED bulbs or using smart power strips, are small steps with immediate savings. Others, like installing heat pumps or induction ranges, are bigger investments that make your home more comfortable while also helping the environment in the long run. Each step reduces your carbon footprint while creating a healthier, more comfortable living environment.
Your Electrification Journey: Where to Begin
Electrification isn’t an all-or-nothing choice. It’s a spectrum of options that can fit your budget, living situation, and goals. No matter where you start on your electrification journey, every step matters. And as your community-owned electricity provider, Ava is here to guide you through this process.
Start Small: Efficiency Upgrades
Start here if you’re looking for immediate savings with minimal investment, if you rent your home or have limited ability to make structural changes, or if you’re simply interested in learning more before making bigger commitments. Here are low-cost, high-impact changes that can reduce energy use right away:
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- Switch to LED light bulbs (they use 75-90% less energy than incandescents!)
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- Use smart power strips to eliminate “phantom” energy use
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- Install weatherstripping to reduce heating/cooling needs
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- Adjust your water heater temperature to 120°F for maximum efficiency and safety
- Set thermostats lower in the winter (about 68-70°F) and as high as is comfortable in the summer
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- Time your electricity use to avoid peak hours (4-9 pm)
Step Up: Strategic Electrification
You may be ready for strategic electrification if you have a gas appliance that’s nearing the end of its life, you’re concerned about indoor air quality or noise from gas appliances, or you want to try out electric technologies without heavy installation costs. These upgrades offer significant benefits for a moderate investment:
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- Portable induction cooktops (cleaner cooking without installation)
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- Electric bikes for shorter trips (fun, affordable, and emissions-free)
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- Small heat pump units for single rooms
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- Electric yard equipment (quieter and healthier)
Go All-In: Complete Home Electrification
You may be ready for a full electrification upgrade if you’re building or significantly renovating your home, you already have solar or are planning to install it, you have aging gas-powered appliances, you use a lot of heating and cooling throughout the year, or you commute daily in a gas vehicle.
These are long-term investments that maximize environmental and lifestyle impact:
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- Heat pump heating and cooling
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- Heat pump water heaters
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- Induction cooking (full range)
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- Solar panels and battery storage
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- Electric vehicles and charging
Choose Your Path Forward: Guides for Every Home Type
Electricity Basics
Making informed decisions about electrification is easier when you understand a few key concepts:
- Electrical panel: This is the central hub of your home’s electrical system. It receives power from your utility and distributes it throughout your home. Modern homes typically have an electrical panel that contains circuit breakers, bus bars, and other components. An electrical panel is sometimes colloquially called a “breaker box,” which technically refers to the section containing the breakers.
- Circuit breakers: These safety devices automatically shut off power when they detect overloads or short circuits. They’re housed within your electrical panel and protect individual circuits.
- Circuit: These are the pathways through which electrical current flows to different areas of your home. Each circuit is protected by a circuit breaker and typically serves a specific area or set of outlets or fixtures. In your home, electrical circuits are rated in Amps, which indicates how much electrical current they can safely handle.
- Amps (A): Amps measure electrical current capacity. Your home electrical panel has a maximum capacity (often 100A or 200A), divided among circuits. Small circuits might be 10A or 15A, while larger ones for appliances like ovens and dryers might be 50A.
- Volts (V): Volts measure electrical pressure, the pressure that pushes electrons through the conductor wire. Standard home outlets are typically 110V or 120V, while larger appliances like electric ovens or dryers may need high-voltage 220V or 240V circuits.
- Watts (W): Watts measure power consumption in amps x volts (A x V). For example, a 15 amp circuit running at 120 volts can handle 1,800 Watts (15A x 120V). A toaster might be 1200W while an LED lightbulb could be 8-10W. Running two toasters on the same circuit at the same time may overload it, causing the circuit breaker to flip, shutting off power to the circuit.
- Kilowatt-hour (kWh): Kilowatt-hours are what you buy from Ava each month, and how your electricity bill is calculated. One kWh equals 1,000 watts used for one hour. For example, a 10W light bulb running for 100 hours, or a 1,000W appliance running for 1 hour, equals 1 kWh.
- Therm: Gas is measured in therms on your PG&E bill. A therm is 100 cubic feet of gas (or about 100,000 BTUs of energy). If you haven’t gone electric yet, you probably use gas in your furnace, water heater, oven, and dryer.
When considering electric upgrades, you may need to assess your current electrical capacity. Don’t worry—this gets easier with experience, and contractors can help evaluate your specific situation.