The Greenroom journal
Real homes, real numbers.
A reading list of home electrification stories we trust — from Dwell, trade publications, and energy programs. We write the summaries; the journalism belongs to the publications, so every story links out to the original.
Deep retrofit
How They Pulled It Off: Making a Midcentury Home Sustainable for the Next Century
A 1953 Chicago-area home — once featured in Better Homes & Gardens — gets a second century of life through deep energy upgrades, with a passive-house architect guiding every decision.
Dwell
July 11, 2025
Rebates
A Whole-Home Electrification That Makes Dollars and Sense
Bob and Karen electrified their 1930s DC brick home — induction range, heat pump, heat pump water heater, 200-amp panel — for about $25,000, with roughly $11,000 back in rebates. Timing aging appliances with incentives did the heavy lifting.
DC Sustainable Energy Utility
2025
Case study
Wadsworth Home
A New Paltz, New York family decommissioned their oil boiler for an all-electric, variable-capacity heat pump system paired with solar — and watched their average monthly electric usage and costs drop 55 percent.
Mitsubishi Electric
October 2, 2024
Rebates
Coloradans Are Now Eligible for Up to $14,000 in Clean Energy Home Upgrades
Colorado's long-awaited home energy rebates are live: up to $14,000 for heat pumps, electric stoves, and efficiency upgrades. One Summit County family shows how local programs stack to cover real project costs.
Summit Daily
November 14, 2025
Deep retrofit
Electrification Retrofit Makes St. Paul Couple's Home More Efficient and Comfortable
A 1909 two-story that hadn't been updated in nearly 50 years goes fully electric — starting with an energy audit that sized every decision before anyone picked equipment.
Center for Energy and Environment
May 13, 2025
Renovation
Leanne Ford's 123-Year-Old Pennsylvania Home Offers a Breath of Fresh Air
Designer Leanne Ford kept the 1900s charm — molding, floors, a wood-clad library — while quietly modernizing everything behind the walls, mechanicals first, paint colors last.
Dwell
August 10, 2023
Partner story with Trane
Guide
Making the Switch: A Practical Guide to Home Electrification
Electrification doesn't have to be one dramatic renovation. This practical guide makes the case for strategic upgrades as each system reaches the end of its natural life — starting with heating and cooling.
Dwell
April 21, 2026
Partner story with Trane
Explainer
A Look at High-Performance Homes: The Energy-Efficient Solution of the Future
A plain-language Q&A on what “high-performance” actually means when you're shopping for a home — and why an older, unupdated house measures up differently than you might think.
The Seattle Times
At Home in the Northwest
Summaries are Greenroom's own words. Headlines, reporting, and photography belong to the linked publications.