An overlooked culprit of carbon emissions? Your home
Why this major contributor to climate change is still
“out of sight, out of mind” for most Americans
An overlooked culprit of carbon emissions? Your home
Why this major contributor to climate change is still “out of sight, out of mind” for most Americans
The transition to clean energy has been accelerated in many sectors, from battery-powered cars to decarbonized corporate footprints. But there’s a silent culprit contributing significantly to the carbon emissions problem in our country: our homes’ energy. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that 20 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from residential energy use as a result of burning fossil fuels for electricity.
The battle against climate change often ignores an even more obvious source – the energy grid that powers our homes. Unlike plastic in oceans or smog hanging over cities, it’s harder to see the dirty energy flowing off the grid every day. The grid regularly shows signs of strain, and many experts believe that our nation’s prolonged dependence on fossil fuels has contributed to those ongoing vulnerabilities.
This is where renewable energy companies like Inspire Clean Energy come into the picture. “One of the biggest steps we can collectively take toward helping the planet is the decarbonization of our energy grid. Switching to a clean energy plan for your home is a fast – and easy – place for us to start,” said Brad Bentley, CEO and President of Inspire Clean Energy, a renewable energy company that provides access to 100 percent clean energy for residential consumers in nine markets across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., including Washington D.C.
77 percent of U.S. consumers are
willing to make a change in their
lives if it means helping the planet.
77 percent of U.S. consumers are
willing to make a change in their
lives if it means helping the planet.
In a recent survey by Inspire Clean Energy, 77 percent of U.S. consumers are willing to make a change in their lives if it means helping the planet. Despite best intentions, however, seven in 10 don’t know what to do or even where to start. For people looking for a simple and efficient way to help the planet and reduce their individual carbon footprint, switching to a clean energy plan for their home could be the easiest thing they do this year.
Accessing clean energy doesn’t
have to mean installing solar panels
on your roof
Increased access to clean energy is only half the problem. Awareness is the other. For example, residential solar panel installation is not the only way to support a clean energy ecosystem for the home, despite common belief.
A new crop of innovative companies like Inspire Clean Energy are simplifying the process by matching your home’s dirty energy consumption with renewable energy from sources like wind, solar and low-impact hydropower. Inspire Clean Energy, for example, offers a monthly subscription for consumers to access 100 percent clean energy for their homes. Signing up online can happen in minutes with no service interruptions or expensive installations. Services like these also offer the added benefit of predictable pricing, which takes the stress off fluctuating energy prices during hot summer or cold winter months.
When customers choose a renewable energy plan for their home, companies like Inspire Clean Energy ensure that 100 percent of the home’s electricity consumption is sourced from renewable energy generation facilities or are otherwise matched with renewable energy certificates (RECs) from clean energy sources like solar or wind. When one megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable energy is generated, one REC is created to track it, ensuring that it is counted when added to the grid. By choosing a clean energy plan from companies like Inspire Clean Energy, you’re ultimately driving increased demand for renewable energy and helping to decarbonize the power grid.
Giving consumers
the power to choose
While the conversation around choice within the energy industry is not new, it’s picked up momentum as more Americans are looking for smarter ways to tackle climate change. Just as they have the power to choose their mobile phone provider, consumers want to be able to choose their energy supplier and where their home energy comes from. According to a Consumer Reports survey, more than 76 percent of Americans support the increased use of renewable energy, so consumer choice can become a critical tool in the movement to accelerate the transition to a power grid that’s powered by 100 percent clean energy.
In fact, enabling consumer energy choice also leads to competition and innovation, and can provide consumers with more predictable and stable pricing for energy in a time of increasingly volatile weather. Innovative plans for clean energy benefit customers while still supporting the ambitious clean energy goals that many policymakers are now pushing forward.
“Ensuring consumers have the ability to choose a renewable energy provider is critical if we want to rapidly accelerate the transition to clean energy,” added Bentley. “Our mission at Inspire Clean Energy is to transform the way consumers access clean energy and accelerate a net-zero carbon future.”
“Our mission at Inspire Clean Energy is to transform the way consumers access clean energy and accelerate a net-zero carbon future.”
Empowering consumers
through education
In addition to choice, consumer education is also a critical piece of the successful transition to clean energy. At Inspire Clean Energy, for example, the solutions they offer are only part of their overall commitment to advancing a clean energy future. Another major area of focus is ensuring that today’s consumers are educated and empowered to help make that future a reality – and that means explaining concepts around clean energy in a clear and compelling way.
As part of a recent effort by Inspire Clean Energy called ‘Power a Brighter World,’ the company created two thoughtfully animated brand films to educate consumers about the importance of accessing clean energy for their homes and the sizable impact such a switch can make on the planet. Both films, ‘The Beast’ and ‘Power Forward,’ tell the story of how people, when they unite together with a clear and strong intention, have the ability to push back and help defeat climate change.
In other words, a simple action like switching to a clean energy plan can have a massive, collective impact on the long-term health of our planet. The first step is ensuring the discussion around a clean energy future continues to shift from one that is “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” to one of the most important conversations of our time.
Clean energy for your home — and
ours.
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