Let’s power buildings with safe, healthy electric technology
Swapping gas today for electricity reduces the average household’s climate footprint by 50% — the equivalent of completely giving up your car.
Going electric is key to curbing climate change
Nationwide, the use of gas for electricity and heating now contributes more to climate pollution than coal. In Washington state, homes and buildings are the single fastest-growing source of climate pollution, up 50% since 1990 — and now cause 23% of Washington’s climate pollution, more than the industrial sector.
We can’t keep using gas and maintain a stable, livable climate. But the solution is already in front of us: Build all-electric, with technology we already have at our disposal.
Washington’s electricity is already among the lowest-cost and lowest-emissions in the country—about 80% cleaner than the national average.
Washington’s electricity supply is already one of the cleanest in the nation and getting cleaner every day as the state transitions towards 100% emissions-free electricity by 2045 thanks for the 2019 Clean Energy Transformation Act. Our electricity is also one of the most affordable. Today, 65% of the state’s electricity supply comes from local, renewable energy sources like hydropower and wind.
Just as utilities, cities and our state have led in cleaning up our electricity generation, we need them to lead on a transition to clean and efficient electric appliances to equitably address the pollution from homes and buildings. Swapping out gas appliances for electric ones is a huge climate win, reducing the average household’s climate footprint by 50%. It’s up to state policymakers to set a similar commitment for how we’ll use abundant and low-cost clean electricity to get pollution out of our buildings.
For more, see the Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy.
Going electric is a matter of equity
Across the country, people of color and communities living on lower incomes shoulder greater exposure to outdoor air pollution. Black, indigenous, people of color and low income Washingtonians are more likely to live in areas with higher levels of both indoor and outdoor air pollution and are disproportionately facing the consequences in adverse health outcomes. With BIPOC and low income people at the frontline of the harms of environmental devastation and health catastrophes, transitioning off of fossil fuel reliance is an equity imperative.
Electrification of homes and buildings will provide major benefits such as cleaner air, healthier homes, good jobs and empowered workers, and greater access to affordable clean energy and energy efficiency to reduce monthly energy bills; but not everyone can easily make the switch. Low-income homeowners struggle with the upfront costs to replace appliances, while renters and those in public housing rarely get a choice in the matter.
A just transition off of gas must be done in a manner that accounts for issues of housing quality and security, prioritizes the equitable distribution of benefits and reduction of burdens for highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations, and elevates the voices of frontline communities in setting the policy and allocating resources for building development and utility services. Elected leaders need to step in and provide policy solutions that ensure everyone has equal access to clean indoor air, regardless of race or income.
A 100% clean energy economy works for all
Washingtonians spent an extra $67 million building homes with gas last year (derived from this RMI study). These homes will have to be retrofitted to electric at even greater cost down the road to reach a zero carbon future. All-electric new homes cost less to build, saving thousands of dollars for builders and new homeowners. Transitioning existing homes and buildings to clean electric heating, water heating and cooking can sustain a significant workforce over many years.
There are 11 times more clean energy jobs in Washington than in fossil fuels.
Jobs include HVAC work — both in gas removal and electric appliance installs, service and maintenance — as well as construction jobs associated with building modifications; and electrical work associated with new renewable energy and grid infrastructure. Additionally, Washington’s gas pipeline system is aging — nearly 400,000 service mains were installed in the 1990s. This is the time to be investing in where we’re going, not spending on the past.
The lowest-cost pathway for achieving 80% carbon reductions economy-wide by 2050 relies on electrifying our buildings, reducing the residential sector’s use of gas by 85%.
5 in 10 jobs in Washington’s energy economy are now in renewable energy and efficiency — and we have room to grow, as Oregon and California have an even higher proportion of clean energy jobs. There are 11 times more clean energy jobs in Washington than in fossil fuels.
Can our electrical grid manage all-electric buildings? Yes!
For a functional grid, supply (generation, long-distance transmission lines, local substations, power lines and so on) must be balanced with demand (usage in homes, buildings and electric vehicles). The transition to clean electricity won’t happen overnight — Over the next three decades, utilities will be taking a lead role and planning for a transition to all-electric homes and buildings as part of a planning process they already do regularly. Heat pumps use far less electricity than other appliances, and coupled with improvements in efficiency and insulation in buildings, we can offset a lot of the new electricity usage.
Electrification bolsters grid reliability investments. It’s also good for ratepayers — One key study from E3 found “that the addition of new electric loads, in the form of electric vehicles and building electrification, helps mute these cost impacts on electric rates".”
On top of this, gas systems are vulnerable to electric outages too, and that electricity is much safer during natural disasters.
Learn more about the electric grid in the electrification era.
Gas is a bad investment if we want a clean energy economy
"I don't expect we'll be making any further investments in those types of gas transmission assets … Natural gas, while it can provide emissions reductions, is no longer ... part of the longer-term view."
- Consolidated Edison Inc. CEO John McAvoy to investors in August 2020.
(Photo above: Kennith Shipp)
What does a 100% clean electric building look like?
It looks just like any other building… but cleaner and safer!
An electric building eliminates the use of fossil fuels for space and water heating and cooking, replacing gas appliances with modern, efficient alternatives that use electricity.
Electric heat pumps provide both heat and A/C
High efficiency electric heat pumps have become very common for space heating in all parts of the world and can operate in even the coldest climates in Washington. And since heat pumps are three to five times more energy efficient than gas appliances, they also frequently leave families with lower monthly bills compared to gas. Learn more. (Photo: Consumer Energy)
Heat pump water heaters are 2-4 times more efficient than gas
Heat pump water heaters provide hot water 2 to 4 times more efficiently than gas. They are commonly used in Washington, sold at stores across the state, and provide the same hot water while significantly reducing your home’s carbon pollution. Learn more (Photo: Lincoln Barbour, Courtesy of NEEA)
Induction cooktops are faster and more efficient than gas, without the health risks
Induction cooktops heat up much faster than gas, provide precise temperature control and are easier to clean and safer for kids to be around. While less efficient than induction, classic electric cooktops are still part of an all-electric building. Learn more and see why chefs use them.