The City of Newton’s Five-Year Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2019, set forth ambitious goals to enable the City, its businesses, and residents, to reach the goal of Net Zero Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions by 2050. The Newton Citizens Commission on Energy (NCCE) has now set forth its recommendations for meeting goals set for the residential sector.
The NCCE recognizes that much more needs to be done by the City and the residents if we are to reduce GHG to Net Zero by 2050. NCCE estimated that approximately 800 completed weatherization projects and 450 heat pump installations would need to take place every year for the next 30 years to reach the target. The last three years have resulted in only 42% of the energy efficiency goal being reached, and only 12% of the goal for heat pump installations.
The NCCE’s April 2023 action plan recommends steps to be taken by the City to inform the owners of residential properties of the need to move to electrification as quickly as possible by installing heat pumps, and to improve the envelope of their homes through weatherization. The NCCE also wrote a separate letter to Mayor Fuller with recommendations for proposed actions and calls for a re-focusing or redeployment of existing resources. They include:
- Reaching out to homeowners who are more likely to make capital improvements — such as new homeowners, those currently using oil, and those who live on streets with no gas infrastructure — with information and help to electrify and weatherize their homes.
- Using the Newton Free Library not only to inform its 600,000 annual visitors of opportunities to electrify and weatherize but to facilitate that change. The NCCE is recommending that the Library install a large interactive visual display that will allow residents to, among other things, take immediate action, such as scheduling a Home Energy Assessment or a session with the Energy Coach.
- Requiring every homeowner to complete a survey that would assign an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) metric to their home. This information would be used to, among other things, to target homes needing weatherization and equipment upgrades, and to assist the Energy Coach to target homes most in need of professional advice. NCCE proposes that the City Council pass an ordinance making this reporting mandatory.
- Streaming data collection and data management related to sustainability efforts. Right now the data that is available is out of date, in error, or accessible only by manual and other expensive search methods.
- Establishing an Electric HVAC Inspector position to assist Newton residents to electrify their homes. This inspector would review all permit applications for electric heating systems, inspect contractor workmanship on-premises, and issue certificates of compliance. This inspector could be either an existing inspector who has been retrained or a new hire.
The goal is to improve homes and to pave the way for less dependence on fossil fuels and gas infrastructure. The state is moving along the same lines. Governor Healey has appointed Malissa Hoffer as her Climate Chief at a cabinet-level position heading the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience. Secretary Hoffer has chosen among her top priorities the installation of heat pumps and developing the necessary workforce to support them. Right now, one of the hardest parts of changing from oil or gas to heat pumps is finding well trained, qualified installers. A Newton Electric HV AC inspector would remedy some of the types of complaints that have already arisen.
