A Boston doctor took viewers on a tour of his home in order to show off his fully electric appliance setup — which, he shared, was not only more cost-effective, but healthier too.
Dr. Gaurab Basu invited UC Santa Barbara professor Leah Stokes (@leahcstokes) on the tour, which she shared on Instagram, explaining that they're both "on a mission to electrify our future."
"Going electric can make your family healthier, save you money, and help fight climate change," she enthused.
First, Basu pointed out his ductless heat pump, called a mini-split. Heat pumps provide both heating and AC using clean technology, replacing traditional fuel-burning HVAC systems and lowering pollutive emissions.
Then, they moved on to the kitchen, where Basu proudly showed off his induction stovetop. Not only are these stovetops three times as efficient — and therefore much more cost effective — than traditional gas stoves, but they don't emit any toxic gas compounds, making them much safer.
"As a primary care physician, especially when we had kids, we realized there's this invisible stuff in your home that's not healthy," Dr. Basu explained. "I really think that In the future we're gonna wonder how the heck we allowed volatile, combustible gas to be funneled in from a pipe right into the home." He and Stokes even compared it to the popularity of indoor smoking in the '70s.
The pollutants that leak out of gas stoves — which have been found to be present in the air even when the stove is off — have been linked to childhood asthma, respiratory issues, and even certain cancers.
"As a doctor, I don't want to wait for people to get sick and come to me," Basu said. "We've got to proactively put health in people's homes and build health into our infrastructure."
For all of these reasons, the federal Inflation Reduction Act currently offers hefty incentives — in the form of both tax breaks and rebates — to ease the cost for homeowners who want to upgrade to any number of clean, efficient appliances. And while it would require an act of Congress to repeal these incentives, President Donald Trump has said that he plans to strike them down, so acting quickly could mean saving thousands.
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Yes — often 😬 If you're interested in learning what incentives you might qualify for, check out Rewiring America's handy free calculator tool.
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