The decision to switch to cleaner, more energy-efficient products is usually based on fuel or electricity cost savings, environmental concerns, or both. That approach, however, ignores other factors that almost always work in favor of clean energy. Total cost of ownership (TCO), owner experience, health and safety benefits, and resiliency/reliability should also be considered when evaluating clean-energy investments.
Taking all these factors into account reveals what I think is an under-appreciated benefit of clean-energy investments: better quality of life.
Total Cost of Ownership
TCO is the initial cost of the investment plus the estimated operating and maintenance costs over the lifespan of the product. For electric vehicles (EVs), TCO estimates include taxes, fees, insurance, financing and depreciation as well as the cost of installing a charging system if you choose to do so. Some of these costs might not come to mind at first, but they can have a significant financial impact over time.
Calculating TCO can be difficult, but not for EVs. You can find data that will allow you to compare TCO between similar EVs and gas-powered cars. After factoring in state and local taxes and fees, you will get a good idea of long-term costs. The Edmunds website has a car TCO calculator (edmunds.com/tco.html) that I used to compare my Hyundai Kona EV to its gas-powered twin. The projection for my EV is $2,000 less than the gas-powered version over five years of ownership.
A note of warning: Some EV TCO calculators leave out key items such as maintenance, which makes it appear that gas-powered cars are cheaper to own. Make sure any calculator you use covers all the expenses.
Finding good TCO data for other clean-energy technology is more complicated. With heat pumps, for example, TCO will be determined largely by the size and floorplan of your home, system design, and heating/cooling preferences. Installers might provide an estimate of operating and maintenance costs that you can compare against the heating and cooling costs of the system you want to replace.
Similarly, solar installers typically will provide an estimate of energy production up front that you can compare to your electricity consumption history to determine when the solar system pays for itself. Solar systems do not require regular maintenance, and the hardware typically comes with long replacement warranties.
Owner experience
You should expect any significant investment to improve your life, and clean-energy projects deliver. When I bought my EV, I was looking forward to not having to deal with oil changes, tuneups and other conventional car maintenance. What surprised me is how much more enjoyable the EV is to drive in terms of responsiveness and handling—beyond what you’d expect from a compact economy car. That’s worth something.
Our recent heat pump installation has, to be honest, come with a learning curve in terms of setting controls and understanding how the system operates. However, it is far quieter and cleaner than our oil-fired steam boiler. Plus we now have air conditioning, which is much appreciated as I write this on a humid 90-degree day.
That steam boiler used to provide our hot water until we installed a heat pump water heater. Now hot water is always available, and our basement stays drier as the unit also acts as a dehumidifier. We now run our basement dehumidifier only on the most humid days.
A range with an induction cooktop has advantages beyond lower energy costs and cleaner operation. It heats much faster and offers more precise temperature control for cooking.
Health and safety
Burning stuff is not good for your health, especially indoors. The Environmental Protection Agency claims that indoor combustion pollutant levels can be two to five times that of levels outdoors. You can lower your health risks anytime you can eliminate a system or appliance, such as a gas stove that burns fuel. An American Lung Association paper provides details on the health impact of combustion in homes at this link: lung.org/getmedia/da394c1a-200e-4c89-9947-7ecb1a26571a/The-Health-Impact-of-Combustion-in-Homes.pdf.
Also, EVs, heat pumps and solar never produce carbon monoxide. This gives greater peace of mind, especially when there’s no need to rely on a furnace or wood stove for heating. A completely electrified home might not need carbon monoxide detectors unless required by state or local rules.
Resiliency and reliability
Disruption on the electrical grid and in energy supply chains is becoming more common. The current war with Iran is a good example. Gasoline suddenly became very expensive, creating an economic shock for many households, while the cost to operate an EV held steady.
Adding a battery backup system to a solar array costs about the same as a propane-powered whole-house generator, assuming it’s properly sized for the task. This combination can provide continuous power for days during outages with less maintenance and no fuel costs, and it delivers electricity in silence.
It’s hard to put a dollar amount on every clean-energy benefit; not everyone will place the same value on those benefits. You should, however, be aware of them when considering a clean-energy investment, as quality-of-life benefits can make your decision clearer. And qualifying Monadnock region residents can get financial assistance for many energy efficiency upgrades through the Monadnock Sustainability Hub’s Electrify Monadnock program (monadnocksustainabilityhub.org/electrifymonadnockfund/).