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Tag: Electric appliances

  • San Fran Bans Future Sale of Gas-Powered Heating Appliances | Entrepreneur

    San Fran Bans Future Sale of Gas-Powered Heating Appliances | Entrepreneur

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    San Francisco Bay Area regulators have banned the future sale of gas-powered heating appliances, such as furnaces and water heaters, to protect the region’s air quality.

    Starting in 2027, The Bay Area Air Quality Management District will require homeowners to replace any broken gas-powered heating units with heat pumps, devices that use an advanced form of technology similar to refrigerators and air conditioners to cool and heat a home at the same time. Regulators will also work with local governments in the area to ensure that permits for houses require the installation of electric heating appliances.

    District officials estimated that this move could prevent smog-forming air pollutants and avert 15,000 asthma attacks and 85 premature deaths in the region due to better air quality. The measure will also contribute to cutting the state’s climate emissions, as home heating currently comprises 11% of the state’s fossil fuel emissions.

    Related: There Are a Ton of New Jobs In Energy. Are You Qualified to Fill Them?

    Why the ban?

    In homes heated by fossil fuel furnaces and water heaters, numerous air pollutants from those appliances can seep into the air inside and outside the home. Many times, these gases don’t even have to be present in high volumes to do long-term damage to people’s health. Low levels of nitrogen oxides — one of the air pollutants targeted in the rule –– can irritate asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lead to respiratory infections in children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

    A Bay Area Clean Air Coalition analysis of national data showed that in California, people of color are exposed to 32% more indoor air pollution from appliances than their white counterparts. The review demonstrates that phasing out fossil fuels in the home can have positive impacts that go beyond reducing carbon emissions. The standard could also help bring cooling to households, almost half of which don’t have air conditioning – while temperatures in the state are rising.

    California is also helping to make heat pumps financially feasible for homeowners. While the upfront costs of installing a heat pump can top $10,000, subsidies available from the state of California, the federal government, and the Bay Area can help offset these costs to help people who might not otherwise be able to afford upgrading their gas appliances.

    Additionally, different types of subsidies can be combined to cover the costs of heat pumps. Heat pumps also have long-term financial benefits which outweigh those of other traditional heating systems, such as the combined heating and cooling impact as well as the comparative cost of electricity versus gas which can result in savings.

    It is still unclear if the standard will be implemented in a way that hurts or helps low-income residents since high utility bills are already impacting Bay Area residents. Regulators will need to create specific guidelines for the program to ensure that this program does not burden low-income residents.

    “Bay Area policymakers must ensure that the transition away from fossil fuel appliances is part of the solution for more affordable, climate-resilient housing, and not part of the problem,” said Megan Leary, community engagement and policy manager at Emerald Cities San Francisco Bay Area.

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    Siri Chilukuri

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  • U.S. Safety Agency May Ban Gas Stoves

    U.S. Safety Agency May Ban Gas Stoves

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    For years, studies have shown that cooking indoors with gas stoves is potentially harmful to our health, particularly for children with asthma.

    Now a U.S. safety agency has weighed in on the potential dangers, warning that they may move to regulate their use. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death, announced they are turning up the heat on gas stoves.

    “This is a hidden hazard,” Richard Trumka Jr., an agency commissioner, told Bloomberg. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

    Related: Electric Stoves Are Much Better for the Environment than Gas Stoves. Here’s Why.

    Going electric

    About 38% of U.S. households use gas stoves, but that number rises to around 70% in states such as California and New Jersey.

    For this reason, many cities and counties across the country have begun to adopt policies to require or encourage consumers to switch from fossil fuels to all-electric homes and buildings.

    In New York City, for example, the building code requires all-electric for new low-rise buildings in 2024 and taller buildings in 2027. Los Angeles passed legislation to ban most natural gas-fueled appliances in newly constructed residential and commercial buildings starting this month.

    The Inflation Reduction Act also offers tax credits for those who go electric. Middle-income households are now eligible for over a half-dozen tax credits for electric stoves, cars, and solar panels.

    Gas advocates push back

    Not everyone is in favor of banning the blue flame.

    The American Gas Association says that a ban on gas stoves is unwarranted.

    “The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and EPA do not present gas ranges as a significant contributor to adverse air quality or health hazard in their technical or public information literature, guidance, or requirements,” said Karen Harbert, AGA president. “The most practical, realistic way to achieve a sustainable future where energy is clean, as well as safe, reliable and affordable, is to ensure it includes natural gas and the infrastructure that transports it.”

    Others argue that the problem is in ventilation, not the gas itself.

    “Ventilation is really where this discussion should be, rather than banning one particular type of technology,” Jill Notini, a vice president of The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers told Bloomberg. “Banning one type of a cooking appliance is not going to address the concerns about overall indoor air quality.”

    But Trumka disagrees, saying the Consumer Safety Commission will issue a proposal and possible ban in the coming months.

    “There is this misconception that if you want to do fine-dining kind of cooking it has to be done on gas,” he said. “It’s a carefully manicured myth.”

    ***Update***

    After we reported on this story, Richard Trumka Jr walked back his comment about banning gas stoves,, The story caused an uproar among some consumers and politicians, including Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

    Trumka clarified his statement, saying:

    “We are not looking to go into anyone’s homes and take away items that are already there. We don’t do that,” Trumka told CNN. “If and when we get to regulation on the topic, it’s always forward looking. You know, it applies to new products. Consumers always have the choice of what to keep in their homes and we want to make sure they do that with full information.”

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    Jonathan Small

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