Thanks, Joe Biden
One year of the Inflation Reduction Act
I did my taxes recently, which was unpleasant for all the usual reasons. But I was actually excited to fire up the tax software this year because I knew that, for once, tax time would mean that I was going to come into some money.
You see, I installed an electric heat pump in my house last January and then bought an electric car in December, meaning that I have $9500 coming my way in tax credits. I probably would not have bought either of these, at least not as soon as I did, had the government not subsidized the purchases.
The electric heat pump has mostly replaced my natural gas furnace (the furnace still kicks in when it’s really cold outside). Since we power our home with renewable, green energy, the heat pump has drastically cut our carbon emissions, helping our household emit over 550 pounds less carbon into the atmosphere this winter.
The new EV has mostly replaced a gas-powered SUV that we now use only for long-distance trips. Even though we have only been driving it for a couple of months, it’s already helped us emit 1300 fewer pounds of carbon than we otherwise would have. Extrapolated out to a year of driving, the car may save us something on the order of 10,000 pounds of emissions by its one-year anniversary. Even accounting for the pollution caused by the…
