Many MindedA Baltimore retiree's gas-leak scare ends in a fully paid electric retrofit
Sherry Frazier, a retired Baltimore special-education teacher, and her daughter had to leave their home a few years ago after a gas leak from her furnace. They had headaches and dizziness, symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. She later sought help from another nonprofit for a new refrigerator and was referred to the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI).
GHHI assessed the house in November 2022 and found a leaky roof, poor insulation and other hazards. By the end of March 2023, workers had replaced the roof, added stair handrails, carpet treads and a shower seat, caulked air gaps, insulated the attic and upgraded the electrical panel. All gas appliances were swapped for a heat pump system, induction stove, electric-resistance dryer and heat-pump water heater, plus a new fridge. Rooftop solar followed in July 2025. The total was about $73,200, at no cost to Frazier.
The model matters as much as the house. GHHI covers the full cost for qualifying low-income homes by combining local and federal money, including Maryland's EmPOWER program and HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Housing, with philanthropic, healthcare and utility funds. That removes the upfront barrier that keeps the households most exposed to old, hazardous housing from upgrading. It matters at scale: US housing stock has a median age of 44 years, the oldest on record. GHHI serves Baltimore and Providence directly and advises about 50 cities and 12 states.
The bill results are modest and came with a lesson. Her bills averaged about $230 on gas the year before; electrification saved $9 a month, and solar brought them to about $170 a month as of May. In winter 2024-2025 bills hit about $600-$700 in December and January because she had covered the heat pump, forcing inefficient electric-resistance backup heating. She now leaves it uncovered. Caveats: the savings figures are GHHI's own, not independently verified, and the solar-adjusted figure covers one household as of May.
Source: Canary Media