All-electric new homes are here

No more fireplace? No more gas oven, range, furnace or water heater? While some new-home buyers may react with, “Say it isn’t so!” others might exclaim, “It’s about time!”

One day, even the die-hard chef whose fifth-generation peach pie requires simmering in a cast-iron skillet over natural gas flames might agree that this news is not all bad. The same may go for the parent of five who learns that electric clothes dryers can be more efficient and longer lasting than gas dryers.

“Historically, natural gas was what many people wanted,” says Lisa Vorderbrueggen, East Bay executive director for governmental affairs for the Building

Industry Association of the Bay Area. “And from our members’ perspective, building decisions are largely driven by consumer perspective.”

Vorderbrueggen adds that some consumers do not necessarily like the idea of all-electric homes, but agrees that many may appreciate playing a direct role in the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

“Builders are very focused on the buyer and don’t want to build homes no one wants to buy,” she says. “On the other hand, in terms of the infrastructure side of things, not having natural gas means one less utility they have to include.”

Darren Holland, operations director for San Jose-based Robson Homes, emphasizes the same point, noting that infrastructure savings are passed along to buyers through home pricing.

A growing body of legislation is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial buildings to 40 percent below the 1990 levels by the year 2030.

Among the actions aimed at achieving the greenhouse gas reduction goal is a 2020 California Public Utilities Commission order instituting rulemaking that explains: “Over the next 25 years, state and municipal laws concerning greenhouse gas emissions will result in the replacement of gasfueled technologies and, in turn, reduce the demand for natural gas.”

And this year, a growing number of cities is eclipsing the state’s mandate by now issuing residential building permits only for projects without gas hookups. The cities include San Jose, Morgan Hill, Alameda, Berkeley, Mountain View, Cupertino and Hayward. Several others still are considering the same action.

Some municipalities even adopted energy reach codes, which require that new construction reaches beyond the state’s minimum requirement for energy efficiency.

The transition away from natural gas will require time and interdisciplinary cooperation between municipalities, builders, buyers and, possibly, the state. Much of that reduction in greenhouse gases will come by way of updated practices in new construction.

“Another advantage for the consumer is that solar

is now mandatory for new construction in California,” Holland says.

“With solar, you can generate all the power you need for your own home, without taxing the electric grid,” he says, noting that the cost of the system is factored into the cost of the home. “Theoretically, you could put a big solar system on a house and have zero or extremely low energy bills for the life of the house.”

Builders also break out the cost of the solar system so that eligible buyers can apply for a federal income tax credit of up to 26 percent of the solar system cost.

Meanwhile, solar readiness in new homes became part of the building code in California this year.

“The expected payback on the solar system is seven to 10 years,” Holland notes.

All-electric will require more amps

No builder or legislator can avoid the reality that, for buyers, the upfront costs of an all-electric home are higher than those with electric and gas.

“High-quality, allelectric appliances tend to be pricier, but also higher quality, longer lasting and easier to repair,” Holland says.

A new house built before California’s solar requirements and individual cities’ recent, all-electric requirements might have required a 150 to 200 amp electrical service. But homes with top-quality, all-electric appliances may require a 400 amp service.

It’s wise to think of the future. While a home’s solar system may produce more energy than needed, the electrical system needs to support those high-functioning appliances. Better to up the amps in the beginning than to have to replace the electrical system to accommodate higher electrical loads for future home renovations.

Watch this space for a future column covering the various grade

and efficiency and quality levels of electric appliances.