[Climate advocates — as well as Senator Mike Barrett, a Democrat from Lexington, the author of the Senate bill — said exemptions would be allowed for facilities like labs and hospitals, and that across the region, fully-electric buildings are coming online and proving that they can withstand the cold of a New England winter.
They also question whether it actually costs more to build a fully-electric building.
According to a report commissioned by the state Department of Energy Resources, thanks in large part to new rebates from Mass Save, it usually costs less to build fully electric. Compared to a house built according to the base building code, for instance, a fully electric, five-bedroom single-family home in Worcester would save a builder $20,062 and save the buyer $548 a year.
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