NYC Housing Authority is the city's largest landlord. Pilot programs to electrify its aging buildings find successes and stumbling blocks which require creative solutions.
CC Music: Scott Holmes, Kevin McLeod, Maarten Schellekins, Jason Shaw, and Jahzzar
A pilot study replacing gas stoves with induction stoves in a public housing building in the South Bronx did the expected and decreased indoor air pollution. Two unexpected discoveries were the popularity of the induction stoves and that the building's old wiring could only deliver enough juice to replace stoves in a fraction of the apartments. Replacing all the gas stoves with induction stoves and the building's broken boiler with heat pumps will require an expensive electrical upgrade. To avoid those costs in the future, NYCHA used its purchasing power to get manufacturers to build heat pumps which use less electricity, plug into 110 outlets and install easily in their buildings' windows.