The city, using technology from Brooklyn-based BlocPower, is trying to figure out how to best bring electric heat to buildings that use heating oil, which can be relatively expensive and also more damaging to the environment.
Indeed, in New England and Canada, heating oil, with its price and its impacts, is the source of much political and policy debate, including taxing structures and other issues.
That includes Vermont, a state that this week was expecting significant flooding from Tropical Strom Debby after suffering a previous recent bout of serious floods.
The idea in Cambridge is to use BlocPower artificial intelligence, mapping, data analysis and other capabilities to identify the best potential places for electric heat, the first step in helping to persuade property owners to make such a change.
BlocPower’s tools can offer details and insights about the energy-use intensity of specific buildings, their heating needs, the feasibility of installing heat pumps and the expected efficiency gains, according to Nikhil Nadkarni, the city’s energy planner.
“If they [already] have solar on top of the building, that means they are already open to green technology” and might be a relatively easy sell for more, he told Government Technology.
The BlocPower software, which takes into account Census and income data, also can provide “high-level” cost estimates for the heating projects, Craig Altemose, the company’s director of strategic partnerships, told Government Technology.
“Electrification is not cheap, even with existing incentives,” he said.
Even so, having this type of data analysis on hand can make the job of deploying a different type of heating system easier — and such tools, including digital mapping, can also spark more interest in such projects.
“It’s really encouraging to see how much interest there is in electrification,” Nadkarni said. “The challenges are real, but we are encouraged by some of the solutions that we are seeing.”
