About one-third of Massachusetts’ emissions come from the buildings sector. In 2019, over 75 percent of households in Massachusetts used fossil fuels to heat their homes; only 17 percent used electricity (much of which is old-fashioned and inefficient “electric resistance” heating). Electrification—or switching from fossil fuels (like gas and oil) to heat our buildings, to using modern electric heat pumps—has been identified as the best least-cost strategy to reduce emissions from buildings in the Commonwealth.
A recent article from the Boston Globe calls out Massachusetts’ slow progress on electrifying homes. In order to meet the Commonwealth’s decarbonization goals, an average of 100,000 homes per year over the next 30 years must be switched over to electric heating. However, just 461 homes made the switch in 2020. More broadly, according to data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, the share of homes in Massachusetts using electricity for heating has only gone up by about 1 percent from 2015 to 2019.
Despite the declining costs of high-efficiency electric heating equipment like air-and ground-source heat pumps, widespread adoption of heat pumps is held back by physical barriers such as incompatible infrastructure and informational barriers like inadequate information and status quo bias. Moreover, for low- and moderate-income households, access to credit and the high upfront cost of heat pumps can be a challenge.
To meet the Commonwealth’s 2050 climate goals, policymakers need to establish large incentives for heat pumps, provide subsidies for low-income and rental housing upgrades, and increase education and outreach to increase information availability and access. Without action, households will likely install new gas systems, with an average lifespan of 15 to 30 years, that will not only slow progress on meeting Massachusetts’ climate targets but will cost these families more over time.
