Photo by iStockphoto.com/SeventyFour
Across California, millions of people are hunkering down at home. And from the home offices where we're lucky to be able to work, climate and environmental justice advocates are continuing our efforts to make sure the places where we shelter are comfortable, healthy, and affordable.
As the Sierra Club recently reported, Californians strongly support policies to accelerate a thoughtful and just transition from gas to renewable energy in our homes. A great decision today by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will help accelerate that transition by funding incentives for all-electric construction and clean space and water heating, making super-efficient, low-emission homes available to more people, especially low-income people who could otherwise be left out of the transition.
Today’s decision approves two new building-electrification incentive programs, called BUILD (“Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development”) and TECH (“Technology and Equipment for Clean Heating”). Both programs were established by legislation (Senate bill 1477).
The BUILD program is meant to encourage new residential construction that is more efficient than required by the current building code. It will offer financial incentives to developers who build efficient all-electric housing, with no connection to the gas grid. At least 75 percent of the program’s overall $80 million budget must be used to support all-electric, low income housing -- helping to shield low-income residents from the volatile and increasing costs of gas. It would also help lower overall energy bills and improve indoor air quality and safety.
TECH is intended to transform the market for super-efficient heating and cooling technologies, such as heat pump water heaters and space heaters, in both new and existing homes. The program’s $120 million budget will provide incentives for education, training, and product development. Some funding will be used to support the development of early-stage heating and cooling technologies that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (like heat pumps), especially those that are grid-enabled. And some funding will address health, safety and affordability concerns for low-income households.
The funding for education and training is important: While heat pumps have been around for a while, many contractors, vendors, and consumers aren’t familiar with the benefits of heat pumps. Contractors have an outsized influence on the purchasing decisions by homeowners, so outreach to these professionals is an essential part of getting heat pumps into people’s homes.
This $200 million in new incentives for electrification will be on top of additional (and much needed) consumer-rebate programs that will begin this year, including some new energy-efficiency programs from utilities and $44 million specifically to support using heat pump water heaters as thermal storage.
Overall, we’re grateful that in these difficult times the CPUC is continuing to deepen investment in clean energy, which will improve air quality and health, lower energy bills, drastically reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and help make our homes better places to be.