It is impossible to address housing without addressing climate action and infrastructure change. Insurers increasingly demand home owners update household systems. Practitioners of predatory real estate scams target older homes and exploit traditional infrastructure.
I want to protect Albany residents with programs that educate them and help them protect themselves and their homes. This becomes possible with increased awareness of utility-related vulnerabilities and an understanding of the paths to upgrade infrastructure.
As the owner of an older home in Albany, I have learned firsthand about traditional utility infrastructure and the compatibility issues and vulnerabilities that can exist between old infrastructure and new. I updated the electrical wiring system of my home from knob-and-tube and installed a new electric panel. This step to support fuller electrification made it possible to remove natural gas fuel from my home and to upgrade appliances to include heat pump systems. Through these experiences, I learned about the incompatibilities and pain points that exist between old infrastructure and new technology.
Unfortunately, compatibility issues cannot be confined to the systems within a home. Compatibility issues can be created when, for example, a high-voltage charging system is installed next door, on the shared grid, next to your knob-and-tube wired home.
Such problems are often overlooked. They are especially troubling in cases where the new neighbors are “investors” trying to exploit these incompatibilities.
Climate action is crucial, but we must guard against the abuse of solar and charging technologies and against their malicious use. Compatibility must be considered as part of the integration.