“Everyday Climate Champions” Podcast Episode 4: Building Electrification: A Climate Solution with a Built-in Public Health Benefit
Written by Mina Rios
Learn more about Climate Reality Bay Area’s podcast, Everyday Climate Champions here.
“Attaching ourselves to those wild horses of commerce in Wall Street is how we're going to more rapidly electrify our country. We can't just do it as a cultural movement.”
Transcript: here
Guests: Sean Armstrong, Managing Principal at Redwood Energy—With more than 25 years of experience in building electrification and decarbonization, Sean Armstrong has designed the retrofit and new construction of more than 10,000 all-electric residences, while providing legal and technical support for dozens of gas bans nationwide.
Host: George Dy
Summary:
In this podcast episode, Sean Armstrong covers how electrifying buildings helps curb fossil fuel consumption. He walks us through where we started, where we’re going, and what we can do as individuals to help us get to decarbonization.
Why This Matters:
A major concern is the disastrous effect of carbon emissions on both our climate and on indoor air quality. Swapping gas appliances for electric ones allows buildings to be powered by renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.).
Key Takeaways
An example of indoor air quality concerns: The waste from a gas stove can be similar to living with a cigarette smoker, and can lead to a number of serious health problems such as asthma, premature birth, heart attack, cardiopulmonary disease, or cancer.
Building developers can produce 5% more apartments if they take advantage of the low construction costs of electrification: approximately three more apartments per 65-unit apartment complex.
Armstrong’s electrification efforts to date have had a resounding impact, both regionally and nationally. As of now, 60 cities in California and 10 cities in Massachusetts have banned gas from new building development plans.
In 2009, Armstrong installed a heat pump in his own home to serve as both an air conditioner in one direction and a space heater in the opposite direction. After sharing this multi-use heat pump idea with developers, some apartment complex developers eventually started using the same energy- and cost-saving concept.
What primarily drove the electrification movement forward was the Berkeley ban on natural gas in new building construction, implemented in 2019 (the first city in the country to do so). Nearly 30 cities almost immediately adopted a very similar ban. Architectural and mechanical engineer practices in cities throughout the Bay Area and beyond had to rework their building plans.
Government incentives to electrify, offered through the Inflation Reduction Act, are also changing people's minds about electrification. Armstrong says incentives to electrify are up to $12,000 per household, which appeals to those individuals who were once on the fence.
Armstrong shares that many contractors around the state are receiving electrification retraining, so consumers can make informed decisions and learn about the rebates available.
Armstrong believes electrification should be a societal responsibility, not a personal one. With announcements from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District stating no more gas appliances will be sold between Santa Rosa (in the North) and Gilroy (in the South) and Vacaville (in the East) by 2027, people need to be prepared for these impending changes. The California Air Resources Board has also announced that no more gas appliances will be sold in California by 2030.
Since electrification has largely been viewed as a cultural movement of environmentalists addressing climate change, progress has taken time. To bring electrification to the rest of the country more quickly, it’s important to find common ground with investor-owned utilities.
How to Take Action
Households eager to begin electrifying their homes can do so incrementally. Armstrong recommends replacing four gas appliances with electric ones in the following sequence: 1) A $100-$200 countertop induction stove; 2) An electric clothes dryer; 3) A heat pump; 4) An electric water heater, since a plumber is necessary.
Related Websites:
Building Decarbonization Coalition: This organization unites building industry stakeholders with energy providers, environmental organizations and local governments to power our nation's homes and workspaces with clean energy
BayREN - The Bay Area authority on financial incentives, rebates, and other local government regulation to aid in the transition to all-electric
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) - Building Electrification: Research and reports on building electrification solutions and impacts
Project Drawdown: Building Retrofitting: A detailed, technical explanation of building retrofits and the impact on total emissions
Redwood Energy: Sean Armstrong’s company website
Contact Us: Do you know a Bay Area-based Everyday Climate Champion? We’d love to interview them! Or just want to share a comment or hear about new episodes?
Get in touch: crba.eccpodcast@gmail.com
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Podcast Production Team: Executive Producer: Dalya Massachi; Sound Designers: Kayla Anchell, Trevor Skerbe; Co-Hosts/Researchers: George Dy, Ellisa Feinstein, Isabella Genereaux, Sean Mendelson, Hasini Parepalli, Lex Schrader, Alex Williams; Logo Designer: Gabriela Vargas