Kumar: New Bay Area heating equipment standards will help us breathe easier

When it comes to the Bay Area’s air quality report card, there’s little to smile about. The grades show failure across the board. Again.

The American Lung Association has ranked the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan area among the nation’s worst for air pollution: 14th for ozone pollution, 11th for short-term particle pollution and sixth for year-round particle pollution.

Counties including Alameda and Santa Clara received a failing “F” grade for high ozone days. Unhealthy air is making Bay Area residents sicker, damaging lungs and worsening respiratory illnesses such as asthma. The impacts of worsening air quality disproportionately impact low-income Black and brown communities who are often left behind.

A major culprit? The use of fossil fuels such as gas for space and water heating in homes and buildings. In fact, burning methane gas in Bay Area buildings generates more smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution than the region’s passenger cars. In California, outdoor air pollution from burning fuels — including gas, oil, biomass and wood — in residential and commercial buildings led to 1,527 premature deaths in 2017, and nearly $17 billion in health-related costs. This alarming health risk demands strong and decisive action.

Fortunately, two years ago, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, responsible for regulating the region’s air quality, took action and passed rules to gradually upgrade homes with pollution-free appliances like heat pumps for space and water heating. Unlike fossil fuel equipment, heat pumps do not release NOx, which contributes to the formation of smog. These rules are necessary for achieving legally binding air quality standards that protect health and wellbeing. They must be implemented affordably and on schedule to ensure cleaner air for all Bay Area residents.

Importantly, the air district’s rules are the very definition of gradual change — they only apply when a consumer’s current appliance breaks down and requires replacement. At that point, low-income residents can take advantage of state and local incentives that lower the upfront cost of a heat pump, and ensure households aren’t stuck with a polluting appliance for another 15 or 20 years.

In addition to the incentives, upgrading to heat pumps can lower utility bills for Bay Area households due to their incredible efficiency. A recent analysis from Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Peninsula Clean Energy finds the average home in their service territory that upgrades to heat pumps for space and water heating saves $30 a month with an electrification-friendly rate. That means more money for lifesaving medications or to put food on the table.

Because the air district rules promote a gradual transition to electric appliances, they allow time for the market and supply chains to adapt. Over the coming years, manufacturers are expected to ramp up production of heat pumps due to higher demand, further reducing costs. As contractors grow more familiar with heat pumps, the cost to install the technology will gradually decrease as well. Already, heat pump sales in the United States are outpacing gas furnaces, a trend likely to continue as more households choose to electrify.

The health benefits associated with greater heat pump adoption also come with cost savings. Upgrading to heat pumps slashes health-harming air pollution that can worsen respiratory illnesses such as asthma. Fewer visits to the doctor’s office or hospital room mean saving families money from costly medical bills.

In the next few years, homes in the Bay Area will begin the transition from polluting, lung-damaging gas equipment to state-of-the-art, more efficient clean energy technologies. As we do so, we’ll be creating a healthier, more affordable future for families in the region. A future in which every Bay Area resident and child can breathe clean air and live healthy.

Srinidhi Sampath Kumar directs the building electrification campaign at the Sierra Club.