The Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors (BAAQMD) on Wednesday approved new regulations that will gradually phase out nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from natural gas furnaces and water heaters in the Bay Area. 

According to the Air District, natural gas building appliances are one of the largest emitters of nitrogen oxides of all stationary sources of air pollution, accounting for a similar amount of NOx pollution as passenger vehicles in the Bay Area.

“The 1.8 million water heaters and furnaces in the Bay Area significantly impact our air quality, resulting in dozens of early deaths and a wide range of health impacts, particularly in communities of color,” said Air District executive officer Dr. Philip Fine. “This groundbreaking regulation will phase out the most polluting appliances in homes and businesses to protect Bay Area residents from the harmful air pollution they cause.”

Many illnesses, including coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, asthma, and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections have been linked to NOx exposure, while asthma and other respiratory conditions, neurological disease, heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, and premature death have been linked to exposure to particulate matter.

The new amendments will avoid up to $890 million annually in health impacts due to exposure to air pollution.

However, the Air District added that the rule amendments will apply only to new appliances and do not mandate the immediate change out of existing appliances, nor will they apply to appliances used for cooking, such as gas stoves. The Air District expects the new regulation to reduce NOx emissions by 90% and improve air quality significantly in the Bay Area.

Information for this briefing was found via the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

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[1/2]A person walks along a street in San Francisco as the city struggles to return to its pre-pandemic downtown occupancy rate, falling behind many other major cities around the country, according to local officials, in California, U.S., February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

March 16 (Reuters) – The San Francisco Bay area will phase out natural gas-powered furnaces and water heaters beginning in 2027 to improve local air quality and public health.

It is the latest move by local officials in the United States to eliminate natural gas, a fossil fuel, from heating homes and buildings. California has been at the forefront of the effort, and the California Air Resources Board said last year it will require that all new space and water heaters have zero emissions by 2030.

Eliminating natural gas appliances would mean transitioning to electric equipment such as heat pumps.

In a vote held late Wednesday, the board of directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) adopted rules that will require new water heaters and furnaces to have zero emissions of nitrogen oxides, or NOx. Exposure to NOx has been linked to respiratory conditions, according to the BAAQMD.

The rules do not apply to cooking appliances such as gas stoves.

Currently about two thirds of Bay Area households use natural gas appliances, according to the regulator. The rules will prevent up to 85 premature deaths per year and save up to $890 million a year in health-care costs and lost work.

They will apply to water heaters in single-family homes in 2027, furnaces in 2029, and multifamily and commercial water heaters in 2031. The compliance dates are meant to allow availability of zero-emitting equipment to increase and costs to come down, the BAAQMD said in a staff report.

Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Leslie Adler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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The San Francisco Bay Area has banned gas stoves and some other gas-powered appliances. George Frey—Bloomberg/Getty Images

San Francisco Bay Area regulators on Wednesday approved a de facto ban on new residential furnaces and water heaters that run on natural gas — but not gas-fired stoves — as states, cities and political parties debate the future of the fuel fight.

The region’s air pollution authorities overwhelmingly approved the ban, which would come into effect in stages from 2027 to 2031, depending on the size and type of equipment. Notably, the measure does not target gas stoves, which have emerged as a cultural hotspot in the debate about phasing out fossil fuels at home.

The gas industry and many Republicans say gas bans increase costs for homeowners while violating their right to heat their homes and cook as they please. Climate activists believe replacing gas appliances with electric ones is a necessary step in the fight against climate change, and see the Bay Area’s new rules as a way to do it.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District regulations focus on stoves and water heaters and the air pollution they produce, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx). NOx, produced when gas is burned, is part of smog and can aggravate asthma and cardiovascular problems. The district estimates that gas stoves and water heaters generate more NOx than all the cars in the region each year. Water heaters and furnaces sold in the Bay Area are not required to emit NOx by the implementation date, effectively forcing homeowners to purchase electric heaters or heat pumps.

The requirement has raised concerns among some residents that in the event of a sudden failure of their water heaters or furnaces, they will be forced to pay more for an electrical replacement – as long as they can find one readily available. District Executive Ray Mueller said that while he supports the idea, the requirement could put a strain on homeowners, especially if the switch to electrical appliances is forcing them to upgrade their home’s electrical panel and wiring.

“Frankly, what I think is missing from this discussion is that there’s a middle class out there that’s really doing badly,” said Mueller, a San Mateo borough chairperson who is involved in voting on the measure voice contained.

However, most board members said that by setting the requirement years in the future, the district would send a clear signal to the market to offer more models with heat pumps and electric water heaters, thereby lowering the price. The measure also provides that two years before the first implementation deadline, the members of the Management Board can take another look at the market conditions and adjust them if necessary.

“Necessity breeds invention, so we create necessity and the market will respond to that,” said Board Member Juan Gonzalez, Mayor of the City of San Leandro.

Even if the measure is implemented, many gas furnaces and water heaters in the Bay Area will remain operational for decades to come, said Leah Louis-Prescott of RMI’s climate and energy think tank. Homeowners will still be able to fix their old gas appliances after 2031.

“It ensures the consumer is buying a cleaner device and avoids decades of pollution,” said Louis-Prescott, who is part of RMI’s zero-carbon building team. “It’s not so much a ban as it is a phasing out if your devices break.”

The gas debate has raged for years in the Bay Area, home to more than 7 million people. Berkeley officials in 2019 passed the country’s first regulation banning gas hookups in new buildings. San Francisco and other cities across the country followed suit, with New York City enacting its own ban in 2021 and Gov. Kathy Hochul calling for a statewide version this year. The gas industry and its political allies have pushed back: At least 20 states have enacted laws preventing their cities from blocking use of the fuel.

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Als Palo Alto und Menlo Park ihre jeweiligen Bemühungen starteten, die Einwohner von Erdgasgeräten abzubringen und die Elektrifizierung zu fördern, betrachteten beide Städte den Wechsel als wertvolles, aber riskantes Vorhaben.

In jedem Fall sehen die Stadtbeamten die Elektrifizierung als einen wichtigen Schritt auf ihrem Weg zur Nachhaltigkeit. Beide haben Regeln erlassen, die neue Entwicklungen für vollelektrische Warmwasserbereiter und Raumheizgeräte erfordern. Gleichzeitig entschieden sich beide dafür, von den Bewohnern keine Umstellung von Gas auf Strom zu verlangen, und verwiesen auf die hohen Kosten für den Austausch von Geräten und ein unzuverlässiges Stromnetz.

Diese Risiken gewannen letzte Woche für die Region an neuer Dringlichkeit, als der Bay Area Air Quality Management District neue Vorschriften verabschiedete, die die Region zur ersten im Land machen, die den Verkauf und die Installation neuer Gasgeräte verbietet. Nach einer Debatte mit Hunderten von schriftlichen und mündlichen Kommentaren stimmte der Vorstand des Distrikts mit 20 zu 0 Stimmen bei einer Enthaltung dafür, seine Vorschriften so zu ändern, dass gasbetriebene Geräte in den Gerichtsbarkeiten des Distrikts, einschließlich Alameda, Contra, schrittweise abgeschafft werden Die Grafschaften Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara und Napa sowie Teile der südwestlichen Grafschaften Solano und südlichen Sonoma.

Die neue Richtlinie zielt auf Stickoxide (NOx), Schadstoffe, die ein Nebenprodukt der Verbrennung sind und die laut Bezirksbeamten sowohl die Luftqualität als auch die Gesundheit schädigen. Sie reagieren auch mit anderen Chemikalien in der Luft, um Feinstaub (PM 2,5) und Ozon zu bilden, so die Mitarbeiter des Luftbezirks. Beide Schadstoffe sind gesundheitsschädlich, wenn sie eingeatmet werden, heißt es in einem Bericht des Luftbezirks. Die Mitarbeiter schätzen, dass die Richtlinie die Reduzierung der NOx-Emissionen um 3.236 Tonnen pro Jahr reduzieren könnte.

Phil Martien, Direktor der Abteilung für Bewertungsinventar und Modellierung des Distrikts, sagte, dass die Verringerung der Feinstaubemissionen erhebliche gesundheitliche Vorteile bringen würde, insbesondere in Gebieten wie East San Francisco, Städten in der East Bay und Teilen von San Jose. Er stellte fest, dass diese Gebiete auch die höchste Konzentration an Farbigen aufweisen und dass diese Bevölkerungsgruppen am meisten von der vorgeschlagenen Politik profitieren würden.

„Wir sprechen hier von Partikeln, die kleiner als 2,5 Mikrometer im Durchmesser sind“, sagte Martien dem Vorstand auf der Sitzung am 15. März. „Sie können tief in die Lungen eindringen und sogar die Luft-Blut-Grenze überschreiten, um eine lange Liste von gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen zu verursachen, einschließlich vorzeitiger Sterblichkeit.“

Für die Befürworter der neuen Politik stehen die gesundheitlichen Vorteile im Vordergrund. Laut einem Bericht von Executive Officer Philip Fine schätzt der Air District, dass durch die Reduzierung von sekundärem PM2,5, das aus chemischen Reaktionen mit anderen NOx resultiert, schätzungsweise 23 bis 52 Todesfälle pro Jahr und etwa 71 neue Asthmafälle pro Jahr vermieden werden könnten . Wenn man primäres PM2,5 einbezieht, das direkt von den Geräten emittiert wird, soll die Richtlinie schätzungsweise 37 bis 85 vorzeitige Todesfälle pro Jahr und etwa 110 neue Asthmafälle pro Jahr vermeiden und zwischen 400 und 890 Millionen US-Dollar für die Gesundheit einsparen Betreuungskosten.

Vicki Veenker, Mitglied des Stadtrats von Palo Alto, die Santa Clara County im Vorstand des Luftbezirks vertritt, sagte in einem Interview, dass sie aufgeregt sei, für die neue Richtlinie zu stimmen, und verwies auf ihre gesundheitlichen und ökologischen Vorteile. Sie sagte, sie sei besonders überzeugt von den Ärzten und Mittelschülern, die über die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen der Umweltverschmutzung aussagten.

„Die Möglichkeit, die Kosten für das System zu senken, ist enorm“, sagte Veenker dieser Nachrichtenorganisation. „Aber auch den Nebennutzen der Reduzierung der Treibhausgasemissionen und der Anpassung an unsere Klimaziele zu haben, ist eine Win-Win-Situation. Es gibt gegensätzliche Bedenken, aber diese Bedenken sind keine Gründe, dies nicht zu tun. Das sind Gründe, um sicherzustellen, dass wir es tun Mach es gut.”

Der Leiter des Bezirks San Mateo, Ray Mueller, ein ehemaliges Mitglied des Stadtrats von Menlo Park, hatte eine andere Sichtweise. Als einziges Mitglied des Air District Board, das sich der Stimme enthielt, verwies Mueller auf die großen Auswirkungen, die die neuen Vorschriften auf die Verbraucher haben würden, insbesondere auf diejenigen, die keinen Anspruch auf finanzielle Unterstützung haben, wenn sie einen Ofen oder einen Warmwasserbereiter ersetzen müssen.

„Wir werden landesweit die Ersten sein, aber diese Agentur hat das dem Verbraucher noch nie angetan“, sagte Mueller bei der Anhörung. “Und das ist etwas, womit wir weitermachen und auch ehrlich sein müssen.”

Wie Veenker sagte Mueller, er wolle den Übergang zu Elektrogeräten sehen. Er argumentierte jedoch, dass der vorgeschlagene Zeitplan zu ehrgeizig sei und dass die Luftbezirkspolitik die Kosten der Umstellung, den derzeitigen Finanzierungsmangel und den derzeitigen Mangel an Elektrogeräten nicht berücksichtige.

„Ehrlich gesagt, was meiner Meinung nach in dieser Diskussion fehlt, ist die Tatsache, dass es da draußen gerade eine Mittelklasse gibt, die wirklich leidet. Die Inflation bringt sie um“, sagte Mueller. „Es gibt Leute, die ein anständiges Einkommen haben, die Hypotheken haben, die versuchen herauszufinden, wie sie ihre Kinder durch das College bringen können, und ich höre hier keine Diskussion über sie.“

Für Befürworter und Kritiker gleichermaßen ist PG&E ein wichtiger Joker in der neuen Politik. Alle sind sich einig, dass ohne ein zuverlässiges Stromnetz jede Umstellung auf Elektrifizierung ein riskantes Unterfangen wäre, und die Erfolgsbilanz von PG&E in den letzten Monaten hat den Einwohnern wenig Grund gegeben, sich zuversichtlich zu fühlen. Mueller sagte, er werde neue Gesetze unterstützen, die PG&E verpflichten würden, die Zuverlässigkeit seiner elektrischen Infrastruktur zu verbessern.

Mueller bemerkte, dass PG&E deutlich gemacht habe, dass es der Bay Area keine Priorität einräumen werde, um elektrische Leitungen unterirdisch zu verlegen. In einer Region, in der regelmäßig Bäume auf Stromleitungen umstürzen, sei die Idee, die Menschen abhängiger von Elektrizität zu machen, „sehr besorgniserregend“, sagte er.

Zahlreiche Anwohner teilten dem Vorstand auch mit, dass sie besorgt seien, dass die Regeländerung ihr Risiko erhöhen würde, Strom zu verlieren und für längere Zeit keinen Zugang zu Heizung oder Warmwasser zu haben. Die in Los Altos lebende Mabry Tyson, die während der Stürme der letzten Woche den Strom verlor, sagte, die neue Richtlinie würde das Leben in den Wintermonaten erschweren, wenn Stromausfälle häufiger auftreten.

„Zwingen Sie uns nicht, auf ein neues Pferd zu springen, es sei denn, Sie wissen, dass dieses Pferd keine spröden Beine hat“, sagte Tyson.

Während die Mitarbeiter des Luftbezirks glauben, dass bis 2027 mehr Ausrüstung verfügbar sein wird, behaupteten Mueller und andere Kritiker der Regeländerung, dass der Zeitplan zu ehrgeizig bleibt. Nach den neu verabschiedeten Vorschriften werden Warmwasserbereiter und Boiler mit einer Kapazität von weniger als 75.000 British Thermal Unit (BTU)/Stunde, die in Einfamilienhäusern typisch sind, als erste ausfallen. Ab dem 1. Januar 2027 werden sie gemäß den neuen Vorschriften nicht mehr in der Bay Area verkauft. Das Verbot würde sich ab dem 1. Januar 2029 auf Erdgasfeuerungen erstrecken. Und im Jahr 2031 würde es alle Warmwasserbereiter und Boiler mit mehr als 75.000 BTU/Stunde umfassen, die in Mehrfamilienhäusern und Gewerbegebäuden typisch sind.

Zum Vergleich verwies Mueller auf Tesla, das 2002 gegründet wurde und 2008 sein erstes Auto produzierte.

„Wir haben noch keine vollständige Sättigung des Marktes gesehen und wir haben immer noch nicht die Infrastruktur, um all diese Autos zu unterstützen“, sagte Mueller bei der Anhörung.

Andere teilten seine Sorge. Das Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), eine Industriegruppe, die Hersteller vertritt, stellte die Kostenschätzungen in Frage, die der Luftbezirk für neue Wärmepumpengeräte vorlegte, und stellte fest, dass der Wechsel weitaus teurer sein könnte, wenn er Upgrades erfordert zu Schalttafeln. Die Gruppe schätzte den Durchschnittspreis für den Austausch eines Warmwasserbereiters in der Bay Area auf 8.577 $ und für Wärmepumpen auf 22.745 $. Die Gruppe empfahl dem Air District, eine Alternative einzuführen, die das Konformitätsdatum für alle Geräte auf 2035 verschiebt.

Kyle Bergeron, Senior Regulatory Engineer der Gruppe, stellte in einem Brief fest, dass Upgrades normalerweise erfolgen, wenn eine vorhandene Appliance ausfällt. Wenn das Haus ein Panel-Upgrade benötigt, um eine Null-NOx-Lösung aufzunehmen, könnte es mehrere Tage, wenn nicht Wochen ohne Raum- oder Wasserheizung auskommen, schrieb er.

„Wenn ein solches Ereignis während eines Kälteeinbruchs passieren würde, könnten erhebliche Bedenken hinsichtlich der Gesundheit und Sicherheit der Insassen bestehen“, schrieb Bergeron. „Der Distrikt muss Lösungen für das Notfallersatzproblem in Betracht ziehen, einschließlich proaktiver Ersatzprogramme, damit die Auswirkungen der vorgeschlagenen Regeln 9-1 und 9-6 den sicheren und zuverlässigen Zugang zu Diensten nicht beeinträchtigen.“

Der Distrikt seinerseits plant, das Problem der Netzunsicherheit anzugehen, indem er eine Implementierungsarbeitsgruppe einrichtet, die sich aus 35 Interessengruppen zusammensetzt, darunter PG&E, die den Air District Board regelmäßig über die Marktverfügbarkeit und die technischen Aspekte des Übergangs informieren wird.

Air District-Mitarbeiter räumten in ihrem Bericht ein, dass NOx-freie Raum- und Wasserheizungstechnologien derzeit nur begrenzt verfügbar sind und die Installation in bestehenden Gebäuden teuer sein könnte. Der Distrikt geht davon aus, dass die Verfügbarkeit in den kommenden Jahren steigen und die Kosten sinken werden, und er plant, Zwischenberichte zu erstellen, bevor die Politik in Kraft tritt, um die Verfügbarkeit solcher Geräte zu bewerten. Als Teil des Berichterstattungsprozesses wird der Distrikt “relevante Marktveränderungen berücksichtigen und gerechte Ergebnisse bei der Umsetzung der vorgeschlagenen Standards sicherstellen”, heißt es im Bericht der Distriktmitarbeiter.

Einige Befürworter haben vorgeschlagen, dass die neue Regeländerung das Angebot an emissionsfreien Geräten ankurbeln könnte, indem den Herstellern klar gemacht wird, dass es einen Markt für die neue Technologie geben wird. Debbie Mytels, eine Einwohnerin von Palo Alto, die als Vorsitzende der Peninsula Interfaith Climate Action fungiert, einer Koalition von 35 Gemeinden mit „grünen Teams“, forderte den Air Board letzte Woche auf, die neuen Regeln voranzutreiben.

„Es wäre wunderbar, wenn Sie der Fertigungsgemeinschaft ein Signal geben würden, dass wir weitermachen und damit beginnen sollten, viel mehr Möglichkeiten für Menschen zu schaffen, ihr Heizsystem auszutauschen und die saubere Luft zu schaffen, die wir alle zum Atmen brauchen“, sagte Mytels.

Schon vor der Regeländerung haben die Städte der Halbinsel die Entwicklung emissionsfreier Technologien sorgfältig verfolgt. Menlo Park verlangt bereits elektrische Raumheizungen und Warmwasserbereiter in Neubauten, ein Gesetz, das im Januar 2020 in Kraft trat. Bis heute hat der Rat jedoch keine Elektrifizierung in bestehenden Gebäuden vorgeschrieben und sich stattdessen auf Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Bildung und finanzielle Unterstützung verlassen für einkommensschwache Einwohner.

Palo Alto hat auch eine rein elektrische Anforderung für Wasser und Raumheizung in neue Entwicklungen eingeführt. Die Stadt hat in diesem Jahr auch ein neues Programm gestartet, das darauf abzielt, 1.000 Kunden in diesem Jahr durch ein optimiertes Genehmigungsverfahren und eine Finanzierung auf Rechnung, die es ihnen ermöglicht, die Zahlungen für das neue Gerät zu verteilen, auf Warmwasserbereiter mit Wärmepumpe umzustellen. Das Programm hat einen vielversprechenden Start hingelegt, mit 421 Kunden, die sich laut Stadtmitarbeitern am Dienstag dafür entschieden haben.

Diese lokalen Bemühungen, sagte Veenker, werden den lokalen Städten helfen, sich auf die neuen Regeln des Luftbezirks vorzubereiten, sobald diese 2027 in Kraft treten. Sie sagte in einem Interview, dass der Ansatz des Luftbezirks bereits die vielen Herausforderungen der Elektrifizierung berücksichtigt, indem er Zwischenberichte einbezieht , die Implementierungsgruppe und einen Zeitplan, der Technologien priorisiert, die leichter verfügbar sind und weniger Strom benötigen.

„Bis diese Regeln regional in Kraft treten, werden unsere Bewohner in der Lage sein, einen reibungslosen Übergang zu haben, und hoffentlich werden wir auch ein Vorbild für andere Städte sein“, sagte Veenker.

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SUNNYVALE — As state and local officials begin to mandate only electrical equipment, PG&E has long backlogs in approving upgrades needed for many older homes.

A South Bay couple is feeling the shock of trying to go electric, and their story might serve as a cautionary tale for many.

Mike and Karen Kapolnek’s home in Sunnyvale is more than 100 years old and he has to go down the stairs under the house to get to his stove and water heater. The couple thought they were doing the right thing and replacing all of their gas appliances with electric ones, but it turns out the problem isn’t with the appliances.

“In order to replace these, we need to upgrade our (electrical) switchboard,” Mike said. “We have a 100 amp panel at the moment and we really need about 200 amps.”

They were willing to pay an electrician for that.

“But then we started looking at the various PG&E rules that make it difficult to replace a panel in place,” Mike said.

RELATED: Phase-out plan for gas water heaters and furnaces to relieve consumers

The rules state that a new panel must not be placed too close to the gas meter, although many have been installed there in the past to allow PG&E meters to be read easily.

The Kapolneks have received mixed opinions from the utility company about whether their switchboard is too close to the gas meter, but they were also told that they would need to install a steel post next to their narrow driveway to protect the switchboard.

“Going in and out of a long driveway with a metal pole here was a non-starter for us,” Mike said.

So they decided to move the entire unit to the other side of the house, which could cost more than $10,000.

“PG&E asked us for a $5,000 deposit to cover part of the cost of moving the line to the other side of the house,” Mike explained. “So $10,000 wouldn’t be surprising.”

In addition to the costs, there is time for installation. The Kapolneks have been trying to get approval for the project since August, and they are currently on a 35-week backlog to get the job done. They anticipate it will take a full year to complete the process, but at least they’re in line.

Beginning in 2027, it will be illegal to install gas water heaters in the Bay Area, and they’re concerned about what the backlog will look like for people who need to replace a broken unit.

“I worry about the families who may have to move out of their homes for three, six, maybe more months,” Karen said. “Where will they find a home and will they have to pay double the rent? Or pay two mortgages, or rent and a mortgage? It just seems like the cost wasn’t fully estimated.”

The experience has left the couple feeling jaded about the way rules are made.

“They’re very enthusiastic and want it done right away,” Mike said. “But you have to take a step back and realize that this is affecting real people, that we have real systems that people rely on in their day-to-day lives and you have to work with those and transition smoothly and think about these issues and solve them before it is too late.”

Currently, the state ban on gas appliances begins in 2035, but the Bay Area has a more aggressive timeline. This is where the ban on new gas boilers from 2027 and for new stoves from 2029 begins.

John Ramos

John Ramos accidentally launched a lifelong career in journalism when he began drawing editorial cartoons and writing witty satire for the Bakersfield High School newspaper.

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California regulators on Wednesday voted to ban gas stoves and water heaters in one of the state’s most densely populated regions, a move that will likely require locals to make costly home renovations.

The Bay Area Air Quality District Board, a panel of appointees tasked with curbing pollutants in nine California counties, voted Wednesday to block the installation of gas-powered appliances beginning in 2027. The board acknowledged that homeowners will have to spend thousands of dollars installing electrical appliances and that moving away from natural gas will increase energy bills.

The ban comes as Democrats nationwide target natural gas. The Biden administration has proposed a rule change that would effectively ban the sale of half of all gas stoves in the United States, a move Democrats have said is not on the table.

The Bay Area ban doesn’t apply to gas stoves, although that brings little relief to local residents. The ban will raise the cost of living in the overpriced Bay Area, whose residents are already moving sooner than anyone else in the nation. Locals objected to the proposal in public statements, with one Palo Alto resident noting that his gas furnace could cost up to $45,000 to replace.

One resident worried that residential buildings in San Francisco and Oakland might not meet the rule because new electrical units require floor space they don’t have. Others noted that the move would add to already skyrocketing energy bills and real estate prices.

Californians’ electricity prices have already risen nearly 70 percent since 2010, when the state began to move away from fossil fuels. Households in California pay nearly 83 percent more than the average for homes in other parts of the United States.

Regulators acknowledged in their report that the rules could add $243 million to $1 billion in infrastructure spending in addition to the cost to individual homeowners. The board assured concerned locals it would be keeping an eye on the costs of banning it and boasted that the rule could save 37 to 85 lives annually.

The board found that 404 out of 565 public comments supported the rule. However, about 200 of these came from the Sierra Club. Most supportive comments reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon were form letters.

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Homeowners and builders are calling a potential ban on certain gas-powered appliances in the San Francisco Bay Area an extreme move that will force a region prone to blackouts to rely even more on an overburdened power supply.

“This is just pure extremist politics being taken to the furthest extremes,” said Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders. “You’re talking to everyone in California, their power grid obviously can’t take the current summer strain, and you’re going to help by making every car electric, every oven, every air conditioner, every refrigerator, every electric stove?”

“Once you get down that path, that gas is bad, it gives impetus to all these extremists who choose to ignore the facts and pursue an agenda that will only lead to more people doing too much for their home or for God ban pay, more homelessness in an area already ravaged by homelessness,” he continued.

CEO SAYS PROPOSAL TO BAN GAS-POWERED APPLIANCES COULD COST CONSUMERS THOUSANDS:

SEE MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is considering two rules that would ban the sale and installation of water heaters, boilers and furnaces that emit nitrogen oxides, which regulators say could cause asthma and other health problems. The move would effectively ban gas-powered versions of these devices, meaning only those that run on electricity would be allowed.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, over 100,000 customers in the Bay Area lost power last week as a cold front with high winds caused power lines and outages. Additionally, California is unable to meet its current needs, importing 30% of its electricity from nongovernmental sources in 2021, according to the California Electrical Commission.

PG&E workers at the site of a substation where a fire earlier in the day caused a power outage in parts of Oakland, California on Sunday, February 19, 2023. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

“This is a state whose power grid is already overloaded,” Howard told Fox News. “Builders have to invest in new equipment for the more expensive subdivision, which in turn increases the cost to consumers.”

The California power grid operator warned residents last summer of potential blackouts due to extreme heat and high energy demands. The operator also urged residents not to charge their electric vehicles over Labor Day weekend last year to avoid straining power supplies during a heatwave.

The Bay Area cities of San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley and Menlo Park have all already enacted laws reducing the number of gas connections, with limited exceptions.

BIDEN’S ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS SHE SUPPORTS CALIFORNIA’S GAS BAN

Bay Area residents wrote emails and letters expressing concern and support for the proposals during a public comment period. Over 90 comments were submitted online, with many questioning the expensive consumers they would pay to retrofit their homes to accommodate the high-voltage electrical appliances once their gas-powered appliances ran out.

Berkley, California was the first municipality in the country to enact a ban on new natural gas infrastructure (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“I would have to gut my house and live somewhere else while contractors worked,” wrote Jennifer Huber of Contra Costa County. “If I could even find a contractor.”

Lawrence Jensen of Oakland said: “These proposed rule changes will devastate the lives of ordinary people (the rich will have no problem adapting, they never do).”

The equipment and installation costs for an electric water heater and electric furnace are higher than gas-powered units, Howard said.

Howard told Fox News, “It’s $3,000 for the new gear and then $7,000 if you need to upgrade the panel and everything.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order requiring all new automobiles and passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. (Associated Press)

If passed, the proposals will affect about 66% of Bay Area homes, according to the Air District.

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“Many Bay Area house hunters are living month-to-month, hand-to-mouth,” Howard said.

“To charge them that kind of cost there has to be a good reason and I can’t find a reason for it anywhere,” he continued. “But that’s the way things are in California, I guess.”

Click here to watch Howard’s full interview.

Ramiro Vargas contributed to this video.

Jon Michael Raasch is Associate Producer/Writer at Fox News Digital Originals.

The post San Francisco space push to ban gasoline home equipment amid blackouts is ‘pure extremist politics,’ CEO says appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Listen to the article
4 mins

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

Dive Brief:

• In Oregon, a switch to sales of only zero-emissions residential heating and cooling appliances by 2030 could nearly halve climate pollution by 2035 while increasing electricity demand from homes and buildings 13% by the middle of the century, according to a recent report from Synapse Energy Economics.
• The report, prepared for the Sierra Club, found that making this transition could lead to $1.1 billion in gas and electric system savings for the residential and commercial sector through 2050, with cost savings beginning in 2030.
• The city of Eugene is currently developing a local policy to wean developers off natural gas in new construction, making it the first in Oregon to do so. The state is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

Dive Insight:

Meeting Oregon’s climate goals will mean reducing the carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings, which currently produce 35% of the state’s carbon dioxide emissions, according to the report. One approach is to electrify building appliances and systems and switch to efficient electric heat pumps.

There are two types of heat pumps, according to Fred Heutte, senior policy associate with the NW Energy Coalition: those that can provide air heating and air conditioning and those that provide hot water.

“We’re poised to do a pretty big upward market transformation [with] both kinds of heat pumps in the next few years,” Heutte said, adding that the recent Synapse report builds on work that has been happening in the state for a long time. The transition to heat pumps represents a shift away from natural gas heating as well as older styles of electric resistance heating, he said, which tend to not be as efficient.

The report took a closer look at two electrification pathways: one that assumes a 100% market share for efficient electrical systems by 2025 and another that reaches that goal by 2030. The more-aggressive 2025 deadline would reduce carbon emissions by 56% by 2035, according to the report, while increasing electricity consumption 12% by 2030, and 13% by the middle of the century.

The 2030 pathway, meanwhile, would reduce emissions by 47% by 2035 while increasing electricity demand by 10% by 2030 and 13% by 2050. These efforts will likely lower energy system costs in both scenarios, the study found: The 2030 pathway is estimated to lead to $1.1 billion in savings through 2050, while the 2025 pathway saves around $1.7 billion in the same timeframe.

Heat pump technology can also help the power system by shifting load around, according to Heutte, because they can be scheduled to operate outside of peak electricity demand hours, essentially functioning like a kind of battery storage.

“In effect, what you’re doing is shifting the renewable energy from when it’s generated to when it’s needed,” he explained, by, for instance, pre-heating water or pre-cooling a house. “All those things are basically smart ways to manage the customer side of energy use.”

Moreover, the report shows that because of the high efficiency of heat pump technology, electricity consumption in residential buildings in Oregon would actually decrease even as the amount of homes using electricity for heating and water heating doubles, Dylan Plummer, senior campaign representative with Sierra Club , said in an email.

The main challenge standing in the way of widespread adoption of heat pump technology is ensuring that the financial burden of the transition does not fall on historically marginalized households, according to Plummer.

“That is why organizations across the State are working to put in place policies at all levels of government to fund targeted retrofit programs to ensure that the clean energy transition has values ​​of economic and racial equity at its core,” he said.

The post Switching to environment friendly, electrical HVAC home equipment may save Oregon $1.1B by way of 2050, research finds appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Listen to the article
4 mins

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

Dive Brief:

• In Oregon, a switch to sales of only zero-emissions residential heating and cooling appliances by 2030 could nearly halve climate pollution by 2035 while increasing electricity demand from homes and buildings 13% by the middle of the century, according to a recent report from Synapse Energy Economics.
• The report, prepared for the Sierra Club, found that making this transition could lead to $1.1 billion in gas and electric system savings for the residential and commercial sector through 2050, with cost savings beginning in 2030.
• The city of Eugene is currently developing a local policy to wean developers off natural gas in new construction, making it the first in Oregon to do so. The state is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

Dive Insight:

Meeting Oregon’s climate goals will mean reducing the carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings, which currently produce 35% of the state’s carbon dioxide emissions, according to the report. One approach is to electrify building appliances and systems and switch to efficient electric heat pumps.

There are two types of heat pumps, according to Fred Heutte, senior policy associate with the NW Energy Coalition: those that can provide air heating and air conditioning and those that provide hot water.

“We’re poised to do a pretty big upward market transformation [with] both kinds of heat pumps in the next few years,” Heutte said, adding that the recent Synapse report builds on work that has been happening in the state for a long time. The transition to heat pumps represents a shift away from natural gas heating as well as older styles of electric resistance heating, he said, which tend to not be as efficient.

The report took a closer look at two electrification pathways: one that assumes a 100% market share for efficient electrical systems by 2025 and another that reaches that goal by 2030. The more-aggressive 2025 deadline would reduce carbon emissions by 56% by 2035, according to the report, while increasing electricity consumption 12% by 2030, and 13% by the middle of the century.

The 2030 pathway, meanwhile, would reduce emissions by 47% by 2035 while increasing electricity demand by 10% by 2030 and 13% by 2050. These efforts will likely lower energy system costs in both scenarios, the study found: The 2030 pathway is estimated to lead to $1.1 billion in savings through 2050, while the 2025 pathway saves around $1.7 billion in the same timeframe.

Heat pump technology can also help the power system by shifting load around, according to Heutte, because they can be scheduled to operate outside of peak electricity demand hours, essentially functioning like a kind of battery storage.

“In effect, what you’re doing is shifting the renewable energy from when it’s generated to when it’s needed,” he explained, by, for instance, pre-heating water or pre-cooling a house. “All those things are basically smart ways to manage the customer side of energy use.”

Moreover, the report shows that because of the high efficiency of heat pump technology, electricity consumption in residential buildings in Oregon would actually decrease even as the amount of homes using electricity for heating and water heating doubles, Dylan Plummer, senior campaign representative with Sierra Club , said in an email.

The main challenge standing in the way of widespread adoption of heat pump technology is ensuring that the financial burden of the transition does not fall on historically marginalized households, according to Plummer.

“That is why organizations across the State are working to put in place policies at all levels of government to fund targeted retrofit programs to ensure that the clean energy transition has values ​​of economic and racial equity at its core,” he said.

The post Switching to environment friendly, electrical HVAC home equipment may save Oregon $1.1B by means of 2050, examine finds appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Red Devil®, a manufacturer of sealants, sealants and hand tools for painters, offers a full line of duct sealants for professional HVAC contractors and home improvement professionals. Its versatile product lines include D-Seal water-based duct sealant and F-Seal 181 water-based duct sealant, both with adhesion for sealing metal and flexible ducts, vents, air conditioning and other HVAC equipment indoors and outdoors.

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The fiber-reinforced F-Seal 181 offers many of the same benefits as D-Seal and features fiber reinforcement for seal strength and processability. F-Seal was developed for sealing fiberboard and flexible ducts and is suitable for indoor and outdoor air ducts. It also offers fast drying time, mold and mildew resistance (after curing), outperforms all SMACNA pressure and sealing classes, and is UL 181A-M and BM approved. F-Seal 181 is designed for sealing jobs of all sizes and is available in white or gray in 28 oz. and 10.1 ounces. Cartridges as well as one gallon, two gallon, and five gallon buckets.

Both D-Seal and F-Seal 181 seal high, medium and low pressure HVAC duct systems, offer UV resistance and contribute to LEED EQ Credit 4.1. For best results, the water-based sewer seals should be applied at temperatures between 40 ° F (and rising) and 110 ° F. Cleaning can be done with water and mild soap.

For more facility management news related to HVAC, click here.

The post Water-based duct sealant traces for inside and exterior HVAC home equipment appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.