Building Back Better: All-Electric Homes of the Future
In January of this year, the Los Angeles wildfires burned over 20,000 structures, displacing tens of thousands of Californians in the impacted communities of Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Climate disasters like this are often sudden and unpredictable, leaving those affected wrestling with questions about how they can rebuild quickly, safely, and affordably. In the wake of this devastation, policymakers and communities stand at a crossroads with a critical opportunity to build back better and reimagine homes and communities of the future.
All-electric homes are not only safer, healthier, and more climate-resilient than homes that are powered by methane gas, but they’re also faster and cheaper to build. Recently, The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, of Berkeley Law, released a report outlining the benefits of building back all-electric in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities . These findings build momentum on the fact that today’s homeowners are increasingly choosing highly efficient, electric equipment like heat pumps for cleaner, safer, and healthier homes that provide long-term savings. In fact, 9 out of 10 homeowners who own heat pumps would recommend them to others, and 80% of all residential power connection requests received by California utilities PG&E and SDG&E in 2023 were all-electric.
The report also suggests that suspending all-electric building codes actually works against public health and safety, and that these building codes should be upheld due to the fact that all-electric construction is also faster and more cost-effective than rebuilding homes that are connected to gas. These findings will help inform the Los Angeles’ Blue Ribbon Commission as it prepares policy recommendations this summer. The Building Decarbonization Coalition is providing technical expertise to the Blue Ribbon Commission and partnering with Rebuild LA SAFE to support all-electric rebuilding in the City and County of Los Angeles.
Future-proofing homes and communities through an all-electric rebuild provides the following benefits.
Cost Savings
Building an all-electric home is cheaper than building a gas-powered home, according to a 2022 report comparing major cities in the U.S. In Southern California, homeowners can save an average of $3,000 to $10,000 by building an all-electric home compared to a mixed-fuel home.
Equipping homes with heat pumps can also help homeowners save on both upfront and operational costs. Purchasing just one heat pump that provides both heating and cooling means one less appliance to pay for upfront in addition to permitting and installation costs. A new study by RMI finds that typical single-family households in the Los Angeles area using heat pumps for space and water heating instead of gas appliances can save over $300 a year on energy bills. This is because heat pumps are much more efficient than gas furnaces and water heaters, and traditional air conditioners.
In the Los Angeles area, additional resources are available to support impacted homeowners in rebuilding all-electric:
- The RISE Homes (Rebuilding Incentives for Sustainable Electric Homes), coming soon, will provide $10,000 to $15,000 in incentives for all-electric home building as well as technical support and pre-approved home design plans, which can further reduce construction and design costs.
- The U.S. Green Building Council California-Los Angeles has published a Wildfire Rebuilding Guide and will support all-electric rebuilding through a matchmaking program that connects homeowners to builders, contractors, and experts, community workshops, green rebuilding training for contractors, digital tools, and more.
- The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will provide incentives that encourage home electrification later this year.
- The Switch Is On offers free and easy-to-use incentive and contractor finders that helps homeowners explore rebates, tax credits, financial assistance, and specially trained professionals to support home electrification projects and maximize savings.
Speed & Efficiency
Another major advantage of all-electric homes is that it is quicker to restore power to them in the wake of wildfire or climate disasters. All-electric homes don’t require time-consuming gas utility restart services because of the automatic restoration of electrical safety breakers, which can speed up recovery and response efforts.
Rebuilding all-electric also simplifies the construction process, which expedites the overall rebuild timeline and cuts down on costs. Coordinating with just one utility instead of two for service connection is quicker and more cost-efficient. All-electric homes also eliminate the need for complex installations, which can increase labor costs and extend construction times. Plus, installing electrical wiring is generally faster and less complex—and since electric heat pumps can replace both a gas furnace and air conditioning system for heating and cooling, opting for two-for-one electric equipment can streamline installation and permitting to further speed the process.
Health & Safety
All-electric homes are also cleaner, safer, and healthier for families and communities. Modern electric equipment like heat pumps and induction cooktops don’t generate toxic air pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide, benzene, or particulate matter (PM2.5). These pollutants are associated with burning fossil fuels in gas appliances like furnaces and water heaters and can worsen asthma, reduce lung function, and cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. Induction cooktops also make homes safer since they provide precise temperature control without an open flame and stay cool to the touch, making them ideal for families.
Replacing residential gas appliances with clean, electric alternatives could prevent 354 deaths and 1,000 bronchitis cases in California each year, and protect disadvantaged communities in ozone nonattainment areas, who are disproportionately affected by respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. For regions like Los Angeles that experience some of the worst air quality in the country, all-electric homes are critical for protecting public health.
Climate Resilience
All-electric homes are constructed to meet quality building standards that help make homes resilient to climate change and extreme weather, including heat waves and wildfires. Highly efficient heat pumps provide heating and cooling, and maintain comfortable temperatures that keep households safe during extreme heat events. This is especially important in Los Angeles as heat waves are projected to increase in frequency and intensity. Heat pumps also filter indoor air during unhealthy air quality days and reduce exposure to hazards like wildfire smoke.
Pathways to All-Electric
Scaling the all-electric solution can benefit entire communities with more efficient and affordable homes. Neighborhood-scale building decarbonization is an innovative approach to building that enables cost-effective divestments away from gas infrastructure to electrification. Utilities can shift away from expensive investments in aging gas pipelines toward more cost-effective, community-scale home and building electrification, all the while saving ratepayers money by avoiding expensive gas line repairs. EcoBlock in Oakland is an example of a community that unified to electrify together, building a sense of connection while reducing emissions.
Local and state leaders have made efforts to fast-track permitting and the rebuilding process. Senate Bill 282 (Wiener), a newly introduced bill co-sponsored by the BDC, SPUR, and the Bay Area Air District, is advancing through the legislature to make heat pump permitting faster, easier, and more affordable for homeowners and contractors. This bill can help support a speedier electric rebuild process in later phases for homeowners as they begin to install electric appliances.
An Electric Future is Safer, Healthier, and More Resilient,
All-electric construction can not only cut down on rebuilding costs and expedite construction timelines, but it can also ensure that homes are safer, healthier, and better equipped to withstand climate challenges of the future. In the wake of climate disasters, state and local leaders play a critical role in making the rebuilding process affordable and accessible for impacted communities.
Policymakers must protect public health and safety by upholding state and local building codes, which support highly-resilient, efficient, all-electric buildings that provide numerous cost and quality of life benefits to Californians. Decisionmakers must also prioritize funding for incentive programs that support all-electric rebuilding so that homeowners can build safer, healthier homes quickly and cost-effectively. Finally, strategies like neighborhood decarbonization and streamlined permitting for electric appliances can also speed recovery at scale and make installing electric equipment easier and more cost-effective for homeowners and contractors.