Page 4 - Green Builder Sept-Oct 2019 Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE By Matt Power

The Inside Scoop Editor-in-Chief
Caption. Text

The All-Electric Home Has Arrived

It’s no coincidence that housing’s transition from fossil fuel-based heating and
appliances to all electric concurs with the dropping per-watt cost of renewable energy.
I All-electric homes by census region
READ RECENTLY THAT the city of San Luis Obispo, in Central
California, is considering rewriting its building codes to
support all-electric living. New homeowners will have to pay
(2005, 2009, 2015)
extra to install gas appliances, stoves, heater and dryers—and
that money will be put toward carbon offsets. The goal is to
help the city reach carbon neutrality by 2035. 50% Share of all primary residences
Sure, it’s California, which is always ahead of the curve on energy
efficiency. But this shift is well underway across the United States. 2015
Why? Several technologies have converged with the need to halt CO2 45% 2005 2009
emissions. First, electric heat pumps
offer a 3-to-1 efficiency upgrade over 40%
old, electric-resistance baseboards.
Second, hybrid heat pump hot water 35%
heaters make electric water heating Rapid conversion. As the most
competitive with gas units. And let’s 30% recent Census data shows, U.S.
not overlook the unsung hero of homes, especially new ones, are
home cooking—electric induction moving rapidly toward all-electric
tops—which offer many of the same 25% equipment.
perks once associated with gas. the most likely (44 percent). New-
Combine all these efficient devices 20% er homes were also more likely
with the fact that solar panels have achieved price parity with natural to be all electric: 35 percent of
gas, and the path of least resistance becomes clear: all-electric living, 15% homes built in 1980 or later used
powered by non-polluting renewables. only electricity, compared with 17
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “From percent of homes built earlier.
2005 to 2015, the share of American homes using electricity for their 10% One of the holdouts in the sin-
main heating equipment increased from 30 percent to 36 percent, gle-family category has been gas
with the share of heated homes using a heat pump increasing 5% cooking ranges. I can’t tell you
from eight percent to 12 percent. At the same time, the share of how many times I’ve heard buy-
homes using electricity for their main water heater increased from 0% ers say, “I just like to cook on gas.”
39 percent to 46 percent. That rapid adoption has only accelerated Most, however, have not tried
over the past couple of years, at least in the U.S. (or mastered) electric induction
Manufactured homes have actually outpaced site-built housing SOURCE: U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION cooking. With precise control of
in moving toward all-electric living. It’s easy to thumb our noses at heat and efficient (i.e., super-fast) pan heat up, induction also allows
the Housing and Urban Development (HUD)- and American National you to cook on cast iron again, something difficult on certain older
Standards Institute (ANSI)-code building sector with their lighter types of electric cooktops.
construction standards, but RVs and mobile homes have mastered For U.S. builders and developers, the shift to electric may seem like
the application of small, efficient appliances and heating systems. old news, but for the rest of the world, it’s a trend that’s just starting.
We could study them and learn a thing or two about how to live According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only three percent
comfortably without gas heating and cooking. of the world’s buildings have switched to heat pump heating. Perhaps
According to EIA, in 2015 single-family detached homes were the our example of how rapidly a housing technology can shift will inspire
least likely to be all electric (18 percent), while mobile homes were and encourage the same fossil-free innovation around the globe. GB

2 GREEN BUILDER September/October 2019 www.greenbuildermedia.com

2 GB 0919 Editor's Note.indd 2 9/23/19 1:14 PM