Sister, can you spare $12,000 to help me decarbonize my home?

I went to CES with Engadget for the first time this year and, among the robots, laptops, TVs and more robots, the most exciting products I saw were ones trying to make our homes more eco-friendly in the most low-effort ways possible. I saw an induction stove, a window-mounted heat pump, a battery back-up system and a few other promising appliances — these are user installable, work with standard 120V outlets and do their part in lowering a home’s carbon footprint. A couple are coming to market this year, while others are still on the road towards wide availability.

When I first thought of decarbonizing my home, solar panels on the roof immediately came to mind. So I took out a loan and did exactly that. Well, I didn’t do it — it took many months of the solar company filing permits on my behalf and two days of ...