Our family and our home

I’m Kate Bockover. My husband Andrew, our two kids and I are residents of Eastland Gardens, where we’ve lived since 2016. While we both have jobs, what really makes our lives meaningful is the time we spend hanging out at home giggling with our two young children.

Another part of what makes our house a home is the Eastland Gardens Civic Association, where we have leadership roles. Andrew is on the board and Kate organizes social events to bring together residents old and new.

Our house is more than 100 years old, though a large addition had been built by a previous owner to the rear of the house. Some of the work on that addition was haphazard – our daughter’s bedroom lacked a vent and was always getting too hot or cold.

Kate’s 100 year old home in Eastland Gardens

We also inherited a 1950s breaker box that was struggling. In 2018, after it started to spark, we replaced it with a 150 amp box. Like most homeowners then, we weren’t yet hip to the benefits of electrification, but this upgrade set us up for the work to come.

Our goals

We’re deeply concerned about the climate crisis and want to be part of the solution.
Still, it was very important to live in a more comfortable house, to avoid the health risks of burning fossil fuels indoors, and to grow our family’s financial security.
We saw electrification as a means to achieve all these goals.

Project 1: Fixing the cold rooms (2021-2022)

Kate’s mini split now makes her children’s bedroom more comfortable.

While adding on a new bed and bath, we knew we also wanted to make our daughter’s bedroom – the one without the vent – more comfortable.
Our contractor EZ Build suggested a mini-split heat pump. That “mini” system made a huge difference. One branch heated our new room, and one made up for the lack of central heating vents in our daughter's bedroom.
At this point we had gas central heat and air, plus the two ductless mini-split units in the newer rooms.
We didn’t get any incentives for this project and the cost of the mini-splits was rolled into the construction.

Project 2: Fixing the cold floor (March 2023)

After getting a blower door test, we got our house weatherized by Edge Energy.
The improvements took just one day and focused on insulating and air sealing the attic and basement. Suddenly, our hot water felt hotter, and I didn’t need thick socks downstairs in the winter. Our basement office became part of the house’s temperature envelope and was more comfortable to work and play in.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we got a tax rebate to cover the $100 energy audit. The weatherization was $3,724, of which we got $1,200 back.
Make sure your paid invoices are itemized for easier tax rebates.

Project 3: Cooking without flames – or fires (Spring 2023)

Andrew making coffee on the new LG induction stove sourced from Bray and Scarff

My gas range was already hobbling along, with two of four burners kaput, when we accidentally lit a cutting board on fire by getting it stuck between the oven drawer and the stove bottom. It was time to get a new induction range. In the meantime, I learned to make brownies in the microwave.
We purchased a LG 4 burner and convection oven range because it was the second cheapest we could find and the cheapest (Samsung) had bad reviews. We had to get the stove on backorder and Bray and Scarff found it for us.
L&MA Construction LLC capped the gas line and installed the 240-volt outlet plug ($650) just in time for the new range to arrive! I plugged it in and boiled water in three minutes to make coffee.
While drinking the coffee, we relaxed, knowing we had done what we could to ameliorate our daughter’s asthma.
The most confusing part of the process was choosing the right plug shape to have installed in my home; even though I knew something about electrification, I had to text back and forth with the contractor in real time to figure out what was needed.
Costs (approximate): $2450 total → $1800 for induction range and $650 for electrical upgrades. At this point, there were no incentives for electric stoves available in DC.

Project 4: Saving money with solar (Summer 2023)

Kate’s 15 solar panels installed by Edge Energy cost her $315/month but make them money thanks to DC’s generous solar renewable energy credits (SREC)

At this point, we had limited capital but knew we could make money with solar in DC.
Thanks to our budget software, ynab.com, we had a few years of electric bill data. We financed the purchase of our 15-panel system over 20 years, so that our monthly payments would be roughly equal to our old electric bill, ($315/mo) while having a zero down payment.
Yet these panels are still earning us money. The monthly payments we receive via Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) have been as high as $850 and as low as zero, when they are covered with snow.
Our solar company has since folded, but the warranty is still being honored. We do have to pay for our solar app each year, which we didn’t have to do before.
While the Edge Energy crew installed our solar panels and wires, they also put in a Level 2 EV charger, for which we got a tax credit. This turned out to be a waste of money, because our EV came with a free charger.

Project 5: Replacing our dying car (October 2023)

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act rebates we could afford an electric car! With the EV charger already in place and our auto loan budgeted, we were able to take advantage of a great offer on the spot.
We traded in a Prius with over 200,000 miles on it and bought a new Chevy Volt EUV, which we could afford partly due to the $7500 federal tax credit. We knew exactly what car payment we could afford and the dealer allowed us to use that number, $368/month.
We’re spending at least $100 less on transportation costs each month.
The EV charger was included with the car, but we already had a charger.

Project 6: Finishing our electrification journey (Completed May 2025)

Our furnace and water heater were each about 12 years old. While that put the water heater near the end of its expected life, the high-quality furnace likely had years to go. Still, we knew it would be more efficient to get both replaced at the same time.
When we learned about the DCSEU electrification rebates in late 2024, completing the electric switch suddenly became much more affordable. After saving up some money, we got an updated estimate from our contractor Edge Energy, and the new HVAC system and water heater were installed by the end of May 2025.
Regrettably, we also had to increase our breaker box to 200 amps to get it up to code; we should have increased it to 200 amps during our 2018 breaker update.
The contractor warned me the system would be loud, but I can still take work calls in the basement with the heat pump air handler running across the room from me. Elsewhere in the house we have not had any issues.
Cost: Just $6,800, after the contractor got 50% rebates for us.

Enjoying our all-electric home

Now we sleep easy at night. Our home is comfortable, we’re not burning gas inside, and we’ve done our part for climate change.

Deliberate electrification meets ad hoc construction: The Bockover’s journey

Kim and Charlie’s Net-Zero Journey: Electrifying a Washington DC Home