PG&E Webinar: Homeowners Guide to Electrifying Homes

Designed for California homeowners, this two-part series provides a fast-paced overview of home electrification, including safe strategies for avoiding costly upsizing of the main electrical panel and practical tools for producing a whole-home electrification plan. The series launches with a survey of electrification basics: what it is, how to do it, the wisdom of Power Efficient Design, using power controls to stay on an existing electrical panel, an overview of electrical load calculations, ways to size heat pump HVAC systems, equipment selection details and the value of having a proper plan to guide you on your electrification journey. Myths surrounding electrification will be exposed. The series ends with a review of software tools that can make home electrification easier, including demonstration of a powerful new iOS app that simplifies the creation of a whole-home electrification plan.

Instructor Bio:

Tom Kabat

Tom Kabat is an environmental and mechanical engineer with 30 years of experience in gas and electric utility efficiency and renewables program and resource planning. Since retiring, Tom works on a variety of climate preservation projects including pursuing Reach Codes, climate action plans and policy development. Tom has co-authored guides to electrification, developed an “Amp Diet” for electrifying buildings without upsizing the electric panel, and developed contractor training material on electrification. Tom has done DIY electrification of his own home and assisted with others. He serves on the board of SunWork.org and on the Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission.

Josie Gaillard

Josie Gaillard is a retired product manager whose work at SunPower in the early 2000’s helped launch the company from a small start-up to a multinational solar manufacturer with a downstream installation business, a first of its kind in the solar business. She currently works full-time on climate change, which some days means navigating tight crawlspaces to assess opportunities for electrification and other days means helping draft decarbonization policy for the State of California. She is deeply interested in what motivates people to act, enjoys solving complex problems with others and places high value on the life lessons she has gained raising a child. She currently serves as a commissioner on Menlo Park’s Environmental Quality Commission where she co-wrote the city’s Climate Action Plan. Josie has a BA from Princeton and an MBA from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

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