SAN RAMON, California \u2014 Pacific Gas and Electric Company has opened a fully electric model home in San Ramon to show how California households may live, cook, drive, and manage power in the future.<\/p>\n
The project, called the PG&E PowerHouse, is both a demonstration home and a working technology lab. Inside the home, PG&E and its partners are testing clean-energy tools such as bidirectional electric vehicle charging, smart electric panels, advanced meters, heat pumps, battery storage, and induction stoves.<\/p>\n
PG&E says the goal is to make home electrification easier, cheaper, and less confusing for customers who want to move away from gas appliances or add electric vehicles but may worry about high costs, complicated installations, or electrical upgrades.<\/p>\n
The PowerHouse was unveiled on April 17 at PG&E\u2019s Applied Technology Services facility in San Ramon. The home is designed to show customers, contractors, policymakers, and community groups how an all-electric home can work in real life, from daily energy use to emergency backup during power outages.<\/p>\n
Making Home Electrification Easier for California<\/strong><\/p>\n For many California families, including immigrant and low-income households, switching to electric appliances can feel difficult. A home may need a new electrical panel, extra wiring, or service upgrades before adding an electric vehicle charger, heat pump, or induction stove. Those upgrades can cost thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n PG&E officials said the PowerHouse is intended to test ways to reduce those barriers.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing is believing,\u201d said Mike Delaney, PG&E\u2019s vice president of strategy and innovation, in the company\u2019s announcement. He said PG&E wants to remove the \u201cbarriers of cost, time and complexities\u201d so customers can make the transition with less stress.<\/p>\n