A step toward phasing out natural gas
California is preparing to use its building standards as a tool to promote construction of homes that wouldn’t rely on natural gas.
A draft code update released Thursday by the California Energy Commission would require new singlefamily homes to be equipped with circuits and panels that would allow them to be powered by allelectric appliances for heating, cooking and drying clothes.
The new code would not prohibit natural gas infrastructure, a step many environmentalists would like the state to take. But if the draft is ultimately authorized by the commission this year, it would require new homes to be “electric ready,” meaning they’re prepared to be transitioned away from gas appliances if any are used initially.
Additionally, the commission would make heat pumps, which are powered by electricity, the standard for new homes and many nonresidential buildings too. The pumps would not be required, but builders would have to increase energy efficiency in other areas if they forgo one.
“We’re encouraging the technologies of the future,” energy commissioner Andrew McAllister told reporters Friday afternoon.
The commission is set to adopt the updated code in August, and it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
While the code doesn’t
explicitly forbid gas, officials think it will result in many builders choosing to construct allelectric structures. It’s part of a growing effort in California to eliminate fossil fuels from buildings, which account for about onequarter of the state’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Berkeley became the first city in the country to ban natural gas in most new buildings in 2019, and about 40 other California jurisdictions have followed suit. Environmentalists were hoping the state energy commissioners would enshrine such a ban in the new building code update, and they indicated after the draft was released that they’ll continue pushing the state to do that later.
Matt Gough, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s My Generation campaign, said in a statement that the draft was “a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough to cut the pollution from gas appliances that is fueling the climate crisis.”
“We have the option to build pollutionfree homes that are healthier and more affordable, and we should take it,” Gough said. “We’re disappointed it didn’t happen this code cycle. It absolutely must happen in the next.”
McAllister didn’t rule out the state taking stronger action in the future, and he said officials “know we need to move away from fossil gas.”
“There’s not much debate about that at this point,” he said.
Still, he said the energy efficiency standards in the building code weren’t designed to dictate which specific fuels facilities are permitted to use. Nonetheless, in the draft update, the commission hopes to make it easier for builders to embrace electrification, particularly by promoting use of climatefriendly technology such as heat pumps, McAllister said.
“I’m very bullish on this,” he said. “I think it’s landed in a place that’s very clear in terms of its intent and its direction.”