There may be fewer gas ovens in the East Bay, both now and in the future. That’s because California leaders are putting new policies in place to address the climate crisis.

 

In August, new energy efficiency standards were approved with the goal of reducing use of natural gas and expanding the use of electric space and water heating in new homes and businesses. This revised building code aims to support the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years.

 

The code also includes requirements for solar. Specifically, new commercial builds would need to have solar and energy storage systems, and new single-family dwellings would need to be “electric-ready” to support electric cars and appliances. If approved later this month, the new code will go into effect in January 2023.

 

California continues to be a leader in addressing fossil fuels. As of November 11, 2021, 52 California cities have already passed measures to reduce the use of natural gas. In the East Bay, expect to see the following changes:

 

Alameda - Limits gas infrastructure for new residential construction on city-owned property, and as of May 18, 2021 they've expanded the code to require newly constructed buildings to be all-electric with some exceptions.

 

Albany - Encourages newly constructed residential and commercial buildings to be electric preferred and requires mixed-fuel buildings to exceed the California energy code.

 

Berkeley - Phases out gas hookups in all newly constructed residential buildings and most non-residential buildings. Berkeley was the first city to adopt these changes and has served as the catalyst for others to follow.

 

Emeryville - Requires newly constructed residential buildings to be all-electric, with exemptions for newly constructed non-residential buildings. However, these buildings must be furnished with conduit or pre-wiring for future electric appliance installation.

 

Hayward - All new residential buildings are required to be all-electric and non-residential, and high-rise residential buildings are electric-preferred. Mixed-fuel buildings must install solar panels, and the energy budget must be 10 percent better than code.

 

Oakland - Requires all newly constructed buildings to be all-electric.

 

Piedmont - Promotes all-electric new construction for low-rise residential buildings and incentives for electrification for renovations of low-rise residences.

 

Richmond - Requires new residential buildings over three stories to have pre-wiring for electric readiness and to support all-electric clothes dryers and space and water heating. Allows gas to power stoves and fireplaces. Requires all buildings under three stories to build all-electric and install a minimum amount of on-site solar based on square footage.

 

Expect to see more cities follow suit as tighter regulations are put into place. Heat pumps, an alternative to gas-fueled heating, are currently used in less than 6% of new home construction in California. The new code will establish heat pumps as the baseline technology when builders are designing homes to meet the new state efficiency standards. Homes may still be built with gas heating systems, but builders in those cases will have to find efficiency gains in other parts of the building such as windows or walls.

 

California’s longer term goal of reaching carbon neutrality will continue to face challenges, but we are on our way in addressing them.

 

Are you curious about how these new initiatives will impact you and your future homeownership plans? Reach out to us. We do our best to stay informed on how these changes will impact local homeowners and our communities.