By Melissa Yu
This article was featured in our Fall 2021 Yodeler alongside a Building Electrification illustration by Vrinda Manglik.
Gas appliances like furnaces and water heaters in California’s homes and buildings are responsible for over 50 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually. Burning gas in homes for heating and cooking produces toxic air pollution like nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides, and formaldehydes that are hazardous to our health. In the Bay Area, appliances release nearly three times as much NOx as light-duty passenger vehicles, and over eight times as much NOx as power plants. As a result of this appliance pollution, buildings and homes in California are responsible for over 1,500 premature deaths and over $17 billion dollars of health impact costs.
Most appliances are replaced every ten to twenty years or more. To meet California’s climate targets and protect community health, we must take advantage of equipment life cycles to avoid locking in decades of fossil fuel infrastructure and perpetuating the public health, safety, and affordability risks borne by vulnerable households.
If you choose an electric appliance for your next replacement, you can gain savings on your energy bill overtime. Unlike traditional first generation electric water heaters and electric stoves, new technology like heat pump water heaters and induction cooktops are highly efficient. You can also convert your home heating systems and clothes dryers to heat pump or electric alternatives. Here are some things your Bay Area neighbors had to say about making the switch from gas to electric when participating in the recent East Bay Green Home Tour:
"One of the biggest learning curves of going to an all-electric home has been learning to cook on an induction stove. My family owns a restaurant and my brother is a chef so cooking on gas is how we came up. We have learned the differences in how we cook certain dishes like how the oil heats up differently. My brother’s a chef and even he enjoys cooking on this cooktop because he says it’s a lot more efficient with some of his dishes." - Denaya
"One of the great things about heat pumps is that we basically got free air conditioning with it because heat pumps work both ways to heat and cool homes so we basically got the air for free." - Kathy Kramer
If you're interested in learning more about electric appliance options, check out a video tour of 12 converted East Bay homes: eastbaygreenhome.com.
Ready to ditch natural gas and switch to clean energy appliances for a safer, healthier, and greener home? Go to our Building Electrification page for a list of resources to help you plan ahead to make long-term choices that will benefit the climate and your energy bill.