Here in Massachusetts heating is a major concern. Although average temperatures will continue to go up due to climate change, we may well see some extremely cold winters with record snowfall in the future for some time.

Many people still believe (wrongly) that switching from oil heat to gas heat is the environmentally friendly thing to do. It’s not.

The most environmentally friendly heating options include geothermal heatpumps, airsourced heatpumps, and wood pellet stoves or other biomass options.

The even more important first step, however, is proper insulation.

Homeowners should begin by requesting a free energy audit from Masssave. Improved insulation alone will already significantly improve your home’s “building envelope” and reduce your heating costs.

I installed a woodstove fireplace insert and a new Mitsubishi airsourced heatpump in 2015 and made it successfully even through the extremely cold temperatures in the winter of 2016 without oil or gas heat back-up.

Solar panels on my roof with net metering allow me to use solar electricity to heat my home during the day. At night when the panels don’t produce I am dependent on the grid’s electricity mix, however. So I turn down the thermostat significantly and put on some extra clothes. I burn “biobricks” in my woodstove for extra warmth whenever needed.