Climate Action Plan Blog Series: How Electric Appliances Can Help us Meet our Climate Goals

Learn more about the City’s proposals to encourage electrification of appliances in single-family homes and the opportunities for residential building electrification to help us meet sustainability goals and actions

Each month, the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Ad Hoc Committee will delve into various topics related to the S/CAP update — the City’s roadmap of strategies needed to meet the City’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% by 2030 and other community-wide sustainability goals. Read on to learn more about the September Ad Hoc meeting, focusing on residential building electrification and ways to share input on this important community priority. Read the first blog in this series to learn more about the S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee, City sustainability programs and more.

SEPTEMBER 2021 AD HOC MEETING RECAP

On September 9, 2021, 73 participants joined the S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee meeting, which included Vice Mayor Burt and Council Member Cormack. The meeting covered several topics including residential building electrification options, impact analysis study, revised S/CAP goals and key actions, and the draft Three-Year Work Plan.

The PowerPoint presentation can be found here. All Ad Hoc meeting materials are posted here.

Residential Building Electrification Overview

Single-family residential building electrification represents one of the largest and most cost-effective opportunities to reduce emissions available to the Palo Alto community. Palo Alto’s electricity is sourced from renewable and hydroelectric resources, but natural gas is a fossil fuel that will always produce greenhouse gas emissions. Technologies exist to electrify virtually all appliances in single-family homes. By far the most cost-effective retrofits for existing homes are heat pumps to replace gas furnaces in homes with central heating with or without air conditioning and heat pump water heaters to replace gas tank water heaters. Despite benefits of converting homes to all-electric, there are barriers to conversion.

Some of the barriers to residential building electrification identified by meeting participants and community members include:

• Cost of conversion (this came up several times and was the number one barrier)
• Belief that technology will get a lot better in just a few years
• Unwillingness to toss out a perfectly good appliance
• Unfamiliarity of what residential electrification conversion means
• Lack of time to research electrical appliance options
• The need to upgrade a home’s electrical panel

Learn more about residential building electrification benefits, barriers, and available services/resources here.

Impact Analysis Memo Summary Prepared by AECOM

The City and AECOM, the City’s consultant, collaborated to model key action impact results in three categories of GHG reduction actions: Energy, Mobility, and Electric Vehicles. The AECOM Impact Analysis Memo describes the modeling approach to estimate emissions reductions from various policies; lists the package of S/CAP key actions that can reduce emissions to 71% below 1990 levels by 2030 through local action; and shows that the vast majority of the proposed S/CAP key actions have somewhat positive or very positive co-benefits, with three proposed S/CAP key actions having negative impacts on cost of living, and one key action having a negative impact on equity. The memo concludes with recommendations for how to achieve the remaining 9% emissions reductions needed to meet the 80 x 30 goal.

Read the memo, with recommendations starting on page 15, here.

Revised S/CAP Goals and Key Actions Overview

Upon completion of the impact analysis, staff updated the S/CAP Goals and Key Actions to better reflect the outcomes needed to achieve the 80 x 30 goal. The updated S/CAP Goals and Key Actions includes a new Climate Action area with 8 Key Actions. The goals and key actions in Energy, Mobility, and Electric Vehicles were reworked, but the outcomes are the same. Minor changes were made to the goals and key actions in Water, Climate Adaptation and Sea Level Rise, Natural Environment, and Zero Waste, with one significant change in the addition of goals and key actions addressing wildfire protection.

Draft Three-Year Work Plan Review

The draft Three-Year Work Plan details the actions reflected in the Policy Framework from the April 19, 2021 Council Meeting (see Attachment A here), and includes estimates of staff and funding needs for implementation and potential greenhouse gas reductions. These are actions that can be implemented concurrently while the S/CAP Update is in progress.

For the most part, meeting participants agreed that the draft Three-Year Work Plan addresses the barriers to electrification, but noted that more outreach is necessary and a group-buy program for electric appliances is needed.

September meeting participants identified the following priorities the City needs to explore:

• Reduce upfront costs (this came up several times)
• A strong price signal for carbon
• Foster neighbor-to-neighbor conversations
• Pilot programs
• Make the process smoother
• Ensure that everyone, regardless of income, can electrify their homes
• Reduce the incentives for non-electric appliances
• On-bill financing
• Plan for recycling appliances as they are replaced
• Pursue multi-family building electrification
• Stop this effort and redirect time and money towards actually solving problems
• Let the market dictate a move towards (or away) from electrification
• Invest your efforts in programs to reduce vehicular traffic where the climate impact can be much larger
• The process should be voluntary
• Provide back-up power to residents

Read the draft Three-Year Work Plan here.

Electric Panel Upgrade and Heat Pump Water Heater

To meet the goals of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP), the City is taking actions to support driving electric and shifting away from natural gas use. For many City of Palo Alto Utilities customers, this may require an electric panel upgrade. The Electric Panel Upgrade page provides information to help you understand how to determine whether or not your project will require an electric panel upgrade and the best way to proceed. Redwood Energy has a resource that may help residents with a “Watt Diet” to possibly avoid an electric panel upgrade. That Watt Diet section starts on page 19 of this Pocket Guide.

Heat pump technologies can be used to improve efficiency, safety and performance by replacing their gas fueled counterparts. The core of heat pump technology is quite simple and commonly used throughout your home. It is the same technology that is in your kitchen refrigerator but in reverse. Essentially, heat pumps move heat from one place to another. This process is extremely efficient, typically yielding about 300% efficiency, so for every unit of energy used, the heat pump will move three unit of heat energy. For climates with moderate heating and cooling needs, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners.

Heat pump space heating and cooling can be very similar in application to your typical forced air furnace with an air conditioner.

A heat pump water heater (HWPH) closely resembles a gas tank water heater, but uses the heat pump to move heat from the air around it to heat the water.

More information about heat pump water heaters and available rebates can be found here.

MAKING AN IMPACT AT HOME

While the S/CAP update is underway, there are several things community members can do now to further the community’s sustainability goals.

Switch to Electric Appliances

Do you want to learn more about how to switch to electric appliances in your home? Are you ready to take the next step in efficiency and electrification upgrades in your home? The Home Efficiency Genie can help. City of Palo Alto’s Utility Department offers a Home Efficiency Genie program to residents providing help over the phone to understand their energy and water bills, evaluate new energy technology, and electrify their homes. Residents can then follow up with a virtual home assessment via video call or in-person house call. The Genie can provide efficiency and electrification recommendations and help with contractor selection.

To learn more about the Home Efficiency Genie and get information about efficiency and electrification upgrades and programs, go here.

Induction Cooktop Loaner Program

Are you curious about induction cooktops, but not quite sure if they are right for you? The City partners with Acterra on an Induction Cooktop Loaner Program, which allows people to borrow a counter-top induction cooktop for up to three weeks.

Learn more about induction cooktops and how to sign up for the induction cooktop loaner program here.

OTHER PROGRAMS TO FURTHER SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Join us for Coastal Cleanup Day 2021

Are you interested in helping keep trash out of our local creeks and the San Francisco Bay? Join us on Saturday, September 18, 2021 from 9 a.m. to noon for Coastal Cleanup Day 2021. The City is hosting in-person cleanup sites at Matadero and Adobe Creeks. Choose to pick up trash at our in-person event or independently in your own neighborhood.

To learn more about how to sign up, or to get assistance with cleanup supplies, go here.

Participate in National Drive Electric Week

Are you considering purchasing an electric vehicle? Is the idea of charging an electric vehicle (EV) mysterious or confusing? On Tuesday, September 28 from 7 to 8 p.m., the City is sponsoring a free EV Charging Workshop presented by Acterra. This event is part of National Drive Electric Week (NDEW), Sept. 25 — Oct. 3, 2021, a nationwide celebration to raise awareness of the many benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more.

To register for the free Charging Workshop, go here. To learn more about other online and in-person events happening during NDEW, go here.

Save Water Year-Round

You can save water year-round by following some basic tips like water your landscapes in early morning (before 10 a.m.) or evening (after 6 p.m.) and only as needed; turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving; and, add mulch to your landscaped areas to conserve water outside. To learn more actions you can take to save water year-round, go here.

For the City’s sustainability website, go here.

PARTICIPATE IN THE NEXT S/CAP AD HOC MEETING

The Ad Hoc meetings are open to the public and a good way for staff to hear from the community on specific sustainability related goals and actions. The next Ad Hoc meeting is scheduled for October 14 with a focus on permitting related to building electrification and commercial building electrification. Provide your input by submitting comments or questions to sustainability@cityofpaloalto.org. Register here and log in from 9–11:30 a.m.

October meeting topics include:

• Permitting for building electrification
• Commercial building electrification
• An overview of near-term funding and financing options

Registration is required in advance of the meeting. Register here.

MORE ONLINE RESOURCES

• A summary of the public comments received at the August S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee Meeting can be found here.
• For details on the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan process, go here.
• For the City’s Sea Level Rise Website, go here.
• For more on the City’s Electrification programs, go here.
• For more on the City’s Green Building Program including Trainings, go here.
• For more on programs focused on Electric Vehicles and Chargers, go here.
• For the City’s Safe Routes to School programs, go here.
• For more on water resources, go here.
• For details related to Home Composting, go here.
• For more on Zero Waste programs, including tools to avoid food waste, go here.
• For Frequently Asked Questions, go here.