Not mentioned in this article is that if you are a landlord and 50% or more of the households in your building are on fuel assistance or on a reduced electrical rate this work is NO COST (free) through Mass Save's income-eligible program. For a triple decker, that means at least 2 of the households need to be on fuel assistance or reduced energy rate. For this to be done you need to get an energy assessment and the heating system has to be old and need of replacement (unless it is resistant electric and then it can automatically be replaced with heat pumps). If you heat with oil or propane the system must be nearing its end of life. They might give you push back if you want to replace an old natural gas system, but you can replace natural gas with heat pumps if the heating system is over 12 years old, but you need to advocate for it. By the way, the same rules apply even if the building is owner-occupied (landlord lives in one of the units.) If you have any questions you can contact savegreen@capeannclimatecoalition.org, we have a grant from the Mass Clean Energy Center to help landlords/renters through through the income-eligible process on Cape Ann (Gloucester area), and we can help answer any of you questions or concerns.
This is so true! I'll add a footnote for this. From our end, the hardest part has been the income verification process/getting people onto the R-2 rate (National Grid territory).. sometimes, it takes a while to work with the CAP agencies. Is this consistent with what you guys are seeing?
Yes, this is so true. At times it feels like you are herding kittens getting everything verified, but the landlords who get into the income-eligible program get a lot of work done for free. It also can take awhile for the work to get done. We have heard that there are going to be other ways to qualify for this program and that they will be coming out soon.
This article was extremely helpful. Thank you! Is there a back of the envelope calculation to figure out if our triple decker will need a 400 amp upgrade in order to install heat pumps?
Not mentioned in this article is that if you are a landlord and 50% or more of the households in your building are on fuel assistance or on a reduced electrical rate this work is NO COST (free) through Mass Save's income-eligible program. For a triple decker, that means at least 2 of the households need to be on fuel assistance or reduced energy rate. For this to be done you need to get an energy assessment and the heating system has to be old and need of replacement (unless it is resistant electric and then it can automatically be replaced with heat pumps). If you heat with oil or propane the system must be nearing its end of life. They might give you push back if you want to replace an old natural gas system, but you can replace natural gas with heat pumps if the heating system is over 12 years old, but you need to advocate for it. By the way, the same rules apply even if the building is owner-occupied (landlord lives in one of the units.) If you have any questions you can contact savegreen@capeannclimatecoalition.org, we have a grant from the Mass Clean Energy Center to help landlords/renters through through the income-eligible process on Cape Ann (Gloucester area), and we can help answer any of you questions or concerns.
This is so true! I'll add a footnote for this. From our end, the hardest part has been the income verification process/getting people onto the R-2 rate (National Grid territory).. sometimes, it takes a while to work with the CAP agencies. Is this consistent with what you guys are seeing?
Yes, this is so true. At times it feels like you are herding kittens getting everything verified, but the landlords who get into the income-eligible program get a lot of work done for free. It also can take awhile for the work to get done. We have heard that there are going to be other ways to qualify for this program and that they will be coming out soon.
Are these setups whole home for all 3 units (all tied to the house electrical panel) or are they separated such that all units pay their own usage?
Separate! Everyone has their own electrical meters
This article was extremely helpful. Thank you! Is there a back of the envelope calculation to figure out if our triple decker will need a 400 amp upgrade in order to install heat pumps?
Not an easy one I can find, mostly due to the fact that you'll need to know your neighbor's electrical appliances. As for your own electrical appliances, you can find calculators like this one: https://ask-the-electrician.com/residential-electrical-load-calculation.html#beginAdv
You'll just need to get your neighbors to do it too, then add up the cumulative potential load for the building!
This is super helpful. Thanks Kit!