For a few hours on Saturday, neighbors gathered around heat pumps, convection stoves and insulation setups to trade tips on building greener homes.
Sustainable Marblehead’s Green Homes Tour featured nine local residences this year, including five new properties and four favorites from past years. Homeowners answered questions from eager visitors about their heat pumps, solar panels, convection stoves and other electric appliances that reduce energy use as well as utility bills.
“Pollution has been a problem for a long time,” said Katie Farrel whose home was part of the tour. “I open my home to show that it can be done. I am a single mom with two kids and a disability…If you want to do it, you can do it.”
Farrell had to replace her oil heating system in 2017 and opted for a heat pump to reduce fossil fuel usage. She has also installed solar panels, and a heat pump for hot water.
When Farrell’s solar panels generate more power than her home consumes, the excess is fed back into the grid, earning her credits that have pushed her electric bill into the negatives. This negative bill pays for her electricity when solar emissions are scarce in the winter.
“It pays for itself in two to four years,” said tour guide Edward Nillson, who also has solar panels and a heat pump installed in his home.
Greenhouse gases are emitted from lighting and cooling houses with gas and oil. In order to help Marblehead reach its goal of being net zero by 2040, Sustainable Marblehead Executive Director Elaine Leahy said the nonprofit hopes to help homeowners get off fossil fuels and move towards electric systems in their homes.
Fossil fuel emissions cause shifts in global temperatures that result in more extreme weather, including heat waves, intense storms and droughts. Reducing fossil fuel usage is especially important in coastal areas like Marblehead, Leahy said, because they are prone to flooding and coastal storms.
“Electric is the future,” said attendee Brandow Henriquez, who owns A&S contracting and installed Leahy’s heat pump. He added that heat pumps reduce carbon output by 60%.
“I can’t emphasize enough that the savings off your energy bills are tremendous, especially with the rising oil and gas prices,” said Mark Adams, whose home was part of the tour.
Mark and Marge Adams moved into their home in 2020 and had to replace their “ancient” oil burner heating system. Even though oil was cheap at the time, Mark Adams said they were shocked by the price of heating the house. So, they decided to install a heat pump. They have a mini-split system, where their heat pump connects to smaller units that heat different sections of their home.
“We have never been cold in this house,” Mark Adams said. Many keep their gas or oil heating systems as back up, but Mark and Marge said their heat pump works down to 20-degree-below temperatures, so they did not need to. They also put in new insulation to retain more heat as well as an electric vehicle charger.
Incentives from state programs and local programs make the transition to electric even more cost effective, Mark Adams said.
Mass Save offers eligible homes 75-100% off on insulation costs and a $10,000-$16,000 discount on high-efficiency heat pumps. In addition, Marblehead Light offers homes a $1500 discount when transitioning from oil to electric heating systems.
Mark Adams is one of six volunteer energy coaches as part of Sustainable Marblehead’s new initiative, acting as an unbiased resource for residents looking to go green. Energy coach program coordinator Lisa Wolf said that having a local expert to lean on makes the transition to electric appliances more accessible.
Among the visitors at the Adams’ home was Marblehead resident Valerie Pearson, who had already swapped her old furnace for a heat pump to cut her fossil fuel use. However, the switch led to “unintended consequences,” including a basement so cold her laundry would freeze. She joined the tour in part to seek a solution for her frigid basement.
Salem resident Carson McKnight also attended the tour to seek advice on home renovations.
She said she was “in the middle of doing a whole bunch of stuff” and wanted to learn about the different options.
