In the aftermath of the destructive gas leaks and explosions that decimated neighborhoods near Boston last month, the local gas utility is facing weeks, and possibly months, of repair work before service can be restored to thousands of homes. In the meantime, officials are looking for some way residents of the affected communities can heat their homes and cook their food.
Columbia Gas, the local utility whose faulty service lines caused the catastrophe, is offering to switch residents over to another fuel. But would the change be a step forward, or a step back? Inside Climate News has this report (see: “After Dozens of Gas Explosions, a Community Looks for Alternatives to Natural Gas,” by Phil McKenna).
“Columbia Gas has offered to reimburse ‘reasonable costs’ for residents who lost gas service and want to permanently shift to another heating source. Some area residents, rocked by damage to dozens of homes and the death of one person from the gas explosions, have expressed concerns about ever returning to natural gas,” Inside Climate News reported. “But environmentalists will have to work quickly. Columbia’s offer to pay residents to cut ties with natural gas could also result in households moving backward—to high-polluting fuel oil.”
A cleaner alternative would be high-performance air-source heat pumps—especially if paired with battery storage and photovoltaic power production. Remodeler and consultant Paul Eldrenkamp, of DEAP Energy Group, commented: “Let’s take this opportunity to really bring these homes into the 21st century, not just for environmental reasons but for social justice reasons. Let’s not just switch them over to heat pumps, but let’s get some solar panels in the neighborhoods and do the whole package.”
But the devil is in the details: Heat pumps are most practical when the house is airtight and well insulated, which most homes in the older neighborhoods affected are not. For many buildings in the Merrimack Valley gas explosion and fire impact area, the change would require coordinating not just a change in heating appliance, but also a home performance upgrade and an electrical service upgrade. And with cold weather already knocking at the door, time may be too tight.
Of course, it’s much easier to install advanced heating appliances in a new house. And sadly, a new house is what at least one of the victims of the gas explosions needs. That family is suing the gas company, reported cable news station NECN (see: “Family That Lost House in Explosion Sues Columbia Gas,” by Abbey Niezgoda).
“Attorney Socrates de la Cruz said the Figueroa family of Lawrence filed the lawsuit against Columbia Gas for gross negligence in connection with the explosion at 35 Chickering Road that injured their children and resulted in the death of an 18-year-old friend,” NECN reported. “Eighteen-year-old Leonel Rondon, a family friend, was sitting in a car in the driveway of the home when the explosion caused a chimney to fall on the vehicle, killing him. In addition to claiming Rondon’s life, about 25 others were injured and dozens of homes and businesses in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover were destroyed or damaged in the explosions.”
