Panama Bartholomy is the Founder and Executive Director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition.
I’m not an architect, but much of my professional career has revolved around buildings. For over two decades, I’ve helped drive development of sustainable, climate-friendly buildings for the future, allowing me to recognize just how important the built environment is in supporting our health, our climate, and the quality of life in communities.
My experience led me to found the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), where we bring together all of the diverse stakeholders involved with buildings — from policymakers to contractors and consumers—to accelerate the adoption of modern electric equipment powered by clean energy. Our goal is to usher in climate beneficial and climate resilient buildings that are urgently needed to protect Americans from extreme weather, heat waves, wildfire smoke, and the many perils of the climate crisis.
Through this work, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for architects. Architects are able to turn vision into reality, not only keeping up with trends, but creating them, and it is through your creativity and craft that we are free to experience the precious moments of life in beautiful, secure spaces.
As architects continue to employ their talents, I believe that it’s vital that they help lead the efforts to develop buildings that withstand the climate challenges of the 21st century. In the United States, buildings are a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, representing more than one-third of total energy-related emissions. There is no other way: if we want to cut pollution and protect people from the perils of the climate crisis, we must upgrade our homes and commercial spaces to utilize efficient electric technologies. And because architects are at the frontlines of creating the buildings of the future, we need your help to lead as changemakers, shaping consumer taste and the market towards better, more efficient, modern pollution-free designs.
In this essay, I delve into what you, as architects, need to know about building policies and the electrification movement in California. I then map out the many advantages of all-electric residential and commercial buildings with the goal of demonstrating how new, state-of-the-art, clean energy technologies can deliver benefits for your clients.
The Current Regulatory Landscape
Five years ago, the City of Berkeley passed a landmark ordinance, the first of its kind, to secure a healthier community by prohibiting methane gas hookups in newly constructed homes. The ordinance laid the groundwork for the electrification movement in California. In the five short years since Berkeley’s directive was issued, the way we build and heat our homes in California—and the United States—has forever changed. States from coast to coast have passed measures that encourage homes to be built with modern electric equipment such as heat pumps, “climate superheroes” that provide both highly efficient heating and cooling, cut emissions, and lower energy bills.
Today, one in four people in the United States lives in a jurisdiction that either requires or encourages zero-emission buildings. In California, at least six jurisdictions—San Luis Obisbo, San Jose, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, Encinitas, and Santa Cruz—have adopted reach codes, also known as the energy performance approach, that encourage all-electric new construction. Though the latest proposed statewide building code does not require all-electric new buildings, it encourages the market to move in that direction, ensuring that heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are the standard technologies in most new Californian buildings. Despite an ever-changing legal landscape, we expect the vast majority of new buildings in the state to adopt all-electric design moving forward.
Officials are also turning to all-electric building design to reduce air pollution from California’s buildings, which produces more smog in the Bay Area than all the region’s passenger cars combined, disproportionately impacting working-class communities of color. Regulators in the Bay Area approved the nation’s first air quality standard for space and water heaters last year, which will accelerate installation of electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. Not to be outdone by their Bay Area Counterparts, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates air quality in Southern California, is considering similar measures on a faster timeline, and the State of California, through the California Air Resources Board, has committed to adopting a zero-emission equipment standard by 2030.
The writing is on the wall: heat pumps and all-electric buildings will become the norm in California. The rapid pace at which these ordinances have been enacted demonstrates the growing momentum behind building electrification in California, a trend which the HVAC market has noticed. Ten of the world’s largest HVAC manufacturers and distributors have signed an agreement committing to actions that will assist California in achieving its goal of installing six million heat pumps by 2030. Daikin, one of the largest makers of HVAC systems recently opened a North Bay distribution hub, expanded its California workforce, and has established new branches focused on heat pump installation training. According to HARDI data, shipments of residential air source heat pumps into California increased 26% from 2013 to 2021, while furnace sales dropped 40% over that same period. Air source heat pumps made up nearly a quarter of California residential HVAC sales in 2020-2021, outpacing furnaces for the first time.
Aside from increasing heat pump sales, California is also seeing a growing demand for quality building codes that require use of weatherization, airtight sealing, and efficient heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new rule that requires housing financed through the agencies to be built to 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 standards. Since the federal government is the nation’s largest landlord, these new building codes will result in more energy-efficient homes for millions of Americans, including a significant number of California residents.
Benefits of Electric Buildings
So what are the benefits of electric buildings and electric equipment? In one word: numerous.
They range from economic, environmental, to health and safety. Consider, for example, the multitude of advantages offered by highly efficient modern electric heat pumps, which can reach 400% efficiency, providing four times as much heat energy for every unit of electricity consumed compared to their combustion counterparts. Households that install heat pumps receive efficient heating during the winter as well as lifesaving cooling during scorching summer heat, a vital necessity as heat waves grow in intensity and frequency. The greater efficiency of heat pumps compared to central air conditioners and gas furnaces contributes to lower monthly energy bills for consumers.
On top of greater efficiency, heat pumps cut pollution by displacing the need for fossil fuel heating equipment that are an underappreciated river of unhealthy outdoor air quality in California cities. Methane gas appliances generate roughly two-thirds as much nitrogen oxide as all of the states’ light-duty passenger vehicles, with the harmful air quality disproportionately impacting low-income Californians and communities of color. Heat pumps will drastically slash these emissions in the coming decades and advance environmental justice in communities that bear the brunt of this pollution.
Architects should also be aware of the transformative benefits quality building standards hold for residents of the Golden State. The latest energy efficiency standards implemented by HUD and the USDA cut energy bills by $950 per year and lower energy use by 37%. These quality building standards are our first line of defense against the deadly dangers of the climate crisis, especially climate-driven extreme heat events. Homes built to these building codes offer enhanced climate resiliency, with a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded study showing that, during a power outage, the standards as much as double the period of habitability in some homes, reducing mortality rates from extreme weather.
As deadly and dangerous wildfires become a commonplace occurrence in California, quality building codes will play an increasingly important role in protecting vulnerable households. The drafty nature of a typical older California home can let in wildfire smoke, exposing inhabitants to PM2.5, an array of very small particles that lodge deep in the lungs, migrate to the bloodstream, and affect respiratory and cardiovascular health. Enhancing weatherization efforts, such as adopting superior insulation measures, helps eliminate the cracks and crevices from which these dangerous pollutants can seep in, protecting households in the process.
Of course, it’s not just pollutants from the outside that we should be worried about. Inside California homes, fossil fuel appliances such as gas stoves emit the same pollutants that come from the tailpipe of a car. In the time that it takes to bake a cake, gas stoves can fill our homes with air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde at levels that are harmful to health. That impacts everyone, but especially children who are 42% more likely to develop asthma symptoms in a home with a gas stove.
Just as heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are the future, so too are induction cooktops which eliminate gas pollution both inside and outside the home. These cooktops are a vital part of all-electric buildings and have already been adopted by professional chefs because of their ease of use and improved functionality. Compared to gas, induction cooktops waste less heat, are easy to clean, and easy to cook with; furthermore, they help keep kitchen temperatures cooler and more comfortable, especially during the scorching heat of summer.
Often, the biggest barrier to all-electric design is the upfront cost associated with installing modern clean energy equipment. Yet, architects can ease consumers’ worries by helping them take advantage of the numerous incentives that are available to support Californians, including those most recently included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers a tax credit of up to $2,000 to cover up to 30% of installation costs associated with a high-efficiency heat pump, inclusive of labor and materials. For low- to moderate-income households, the legislation provides up to $8,000 in rebates to install high-efficiency heat pumps. A full list of state and federal incentives can be accessed at The Switch Is On, a website where architects can also find trusted contractors who specialize in energy efficiency and electric technologies.
Conclusion
The movement for healthier, climate-resilient buildings is only gaining momentum. As more and more California jurisdictions adopt measures promoting electric equipment in residences and commercial spaces, architects have an incredible opportunity at hand. I believe that architects can be leaders in designing the next generation of cost-efficient, healthy, and climate-friendly buildings in the Golden State.
Such buildings deliver improved air quality by replacing health-harming fossil fuel appliances that emit nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter. In the midst of ever-increasing extreme weather and heat waves, they provide greater resiliency, comfort, and safety. Finally, they dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which is essential for California to secure healthy outdoor air and reach its ambitious climate goals. And these buildings are increasingly affordable because of cost savings associated with efficient buildings, clean energy technologies, and the plethora of federal and state incentives available.
People come to architects precisely because they want quality buildings that will last a lifetime. With all-electric buildings, architects can deliver exactly that to customers and be the climate heroes that we desperately need right now.
