Leslie Kaplan completes her 100% electric dream home in Basalt
Energy Spotlight: Leslie Kaplan, Basalt
Leslie Kaplan’s dream of building a fully electric home in Basalt has finally come to fruition, marking a significant milestone in her journey toward sustainable living. She chose to construct a duplex in Stott’s Mill for her family and as a long-term investment.
While raising her children in a home with a gas stove, she grew concerned about its potential health risks. Gas stoves release pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, which can affect our lungs and make breathing problems worse, and contribute to climate change (“The Science behind Gas Stoves”, Rocky Mountain Institute, June 15, 2023). With a clean slate, she committed to creating a healthier, sustainable home, and decided to explore her options.
Wanting to learn more about induction stoves, Leslie attended CORE’s Climate Conscious Kitchen event in 2023, where she met Mary Wiener, a CORE Energy Concierge, who guided her toward full electrification. Now, her home runs on heat pump technology for heating and hot water, solar panels for energy, and is completely gas-free.
Finding the time, money, and support to make building an all-electric home can feel like an uphill battle but Leslie was able to lean on CORE’s Energy Concierge team throughout the project for guidance. “Leslie was open to new ideas, dedicated to researching her options, and chose high quality appliances,” says Mary. From deciding on electric heat pumps to solar panels and battery storage, Leslie felt supported as she navigated through all the decisions that went into making her dream home a reality.
In addition to CORE’s project planning recommendations, Leslie also tapped into CORE’s financial resources. CORE provides funding for energy efficiency improvements for residential, commercial, and multifamily buildings in the form of
Grants and Rebates. In 2023, Leslie applied for a CORE grant and was awarded $25,000. She said, “With building an all-electric home with the heat pumps and a few other additions, there was an additional cost incurred… and that [grant] really helped make the improvements to go all-electric a lot easier to afford.”
Now that her project is complete, Leslie is motivated to spread the word and encourage community members to go all-electric. She is eager for others to make the shift to sustainable living and start taking climate action. “My wish for future builders and people making renovations is that they take climate change seriously and build energy wisely.”
Read her article in the Aspen Daily News.
