By Melissa Yu
On Monday, October 18th the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is unveiling two rules that would ultimately lead to the phase-out of gas furnaces and water heaters by instituting zero-emission appliance standards. We are asking the Air District to move forward with the rules and to plan for an equitable and affordable transition that prioritizes low-income communities having access to clean appliances first.
Gas appliance pollution is damaging our climate, health, and air quality. BAAQMD already has rules limiting nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from home water heaters and furnaces, but the current standards allow pollution to persist. Zero-NOx appliance standards would require appliances sold in the Bay Area to be non-polluting. Please send a message to the Air District urging them to protect community health and institute zero-emission standards.
NOx are toxic, highly reactive gases that are emitted when a fuel is burned, including when using household appliances. NOx also reacts with the atmosphere to become harmful smog (ozone) and particulate matter (PM 2.5). NOx, ozone, and PM 2.5 cause respiratory conditions such as asthma, wheezing, decreased lung functioning, and increased likelihood of hospital visits, heart disease, and early death.
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 in California are responsible for over 1,500 premature deaths and over $17 billion dollars of health impact costs. You can learn more about NOx emissions here.
Please act now and voice your support for zero-emission appliance standards before the Oct. 18th BAAQMD meeting. This is a key opportunity to enable building electrification and should be done in close coordination with stakeholders and community members to ensure an equitable, affordable transition to zero-NOx appliances.
Photo by Sara Reeves for The Luupe.