There is such a thing as a logical and accepted Loading Order for Home Electrification. It starts with a home energy audit.

Naturally we did things in the exact opposite order, winging it without having a home energy audit until many years into the process.

I started my environmental writing and activist career in 2007 when i turned 50 and i had reasons outside of the right loading order to do things in the order I did. i wrote a lot about solar and electric cars and needed the first hand experience to know what I was talking about.

Here’s the order we followed:

2007 – Replaced all windows with double pane energy efficient windows made from heavy-duty construction, insulated glass

2007 – Replaced ALL incandescent light bulbs with CFLS

2007 – Added 3 solatubes for natural daylight

2009 – STARTED TO Learn to install rooftop and ground mount solar PV systems with GRID ALTERNATIVES

2012 – REPLACED CFL LIGHTS WITH LEDS

2013 – Replaced gas car with new RAV4 EV and add EV charger in garage

2015 – Installed 5.2kW solar PV system on roof to power house

2017 – Replaced 2nd gas car with new Chevy Bolt EV

2018 – Replaced gas heat with Heat Pump HVAC system

2021 – Added more Solatubes

2022 – Installed Enphase battery system

2023 – Home Energy Audit performed

2023 – Insulation of attic, walls and under floors shell improvement

2023 – Replaced gas stove with electric smart oven and induction burner

2024 – Replaced roof with new cool roof, add new attic ventilation

that’s the way we did it. But the sensible and obvious way to go about electrifying your home is to start with the energy audit. then you can determine the current conditions of your home and benchmark them to be able to measure improvement results. That means capturing how much energy you’re using and how much you’re wasting.

What kind of heating, cooking, water heating and clothes dryer are you using? How much heat or air conditioning escapes through your attic, exterior walls, and crawl space? What’s the air quality inside your home, especially around gas appliances? Are there exhaust fan systems in your bathroom and kitchen?

All of that is measured in the energy audit.

What’s the amp-service to your electrical panel? My 1948 home has 200 amps, so we’re lucky. A lot of older homes have only 100-amp service and may need to upgrade to 200. But maybe not.

The most obvious and effective first step is to do what they call a Shell Improvement, the shell being your house. This includes both air sealing and insulation in the attic, walls and floors when possible

The more the home is “tightened up” and insulated the smaller the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system needed. That’s called right sizing.

Lastly is properly sizing and installing the solar PV array, battery backup and adding an electric vehicle charging station and the EV you’ll be charging to run on the sunshine you produce and store.

Once you’re there the next steps in the loading order after HVAC are:
Water Heating
Cooking
Clothes Drying

HERE’S HOW OUR ENERGY AUDIT WITH THE BUILDING DOCTORS WENT –