Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Building Decarbonization

With AMP’s 100% clean energy, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of living by transitioning to all-electric buildings. The use of gas appliances in buildings for water heating, cooking, space heating and clothes drying accounts for 27% of emissions in the City. By switching to energy efficient, all electric buildings, we can eliminate 27% of citywide emissions. 

AMP sources its electricity from a mix of clean energy sources such as geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and landfill gas. These sources of energy are renewable and has little to no carbon emissions.

Learn more about AMP’s energy mix from the Power Content Label. 

Natural gas is cleaner and safer compared to burning coal and petroleum, which produces more air pollutants and emissions than natural gas. However, AMP now provides 100% clean energy from a variety of sources including wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydroelectric that are renewable and have little to no carbon emissions. Natural gas on the other hand, still emits pollutants such as methane, which is 86 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and is harmful to our health. 

Oftentimes, these two terms are used interchangeably and do often mean the same thing. Building decarbonization focuses on the carbon free aspect of an all-electric building running on clean electric energy, while building electrification focuses on the transition away from gas appliances in the buildings to all-electric buildings.

Health: Gas appliances emit indoor pollutants and increase risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and other long-term illness. Children living in homes with gas stoves are 42% more likely to develop asthma. Sealing building envelops helps maintain the building at desired temperatures with less energy use, increasing comfort.

Safety & Resilience: Removing gas infrastructure reduces the risk of fires in the event of an earthquake. Electrical service is also expected to return faster than gas service post disaster. Induction cooktops reduce burn risk, and many automatically turn off when not in use, eliminating a leading cause of house fires.

No, the Equitable Building Decarbonization Plan includes recommendations for policies and programs that will help transition to electric appliances, but does not propose removing existing appliances that have not reached the end of their useful life or are not part of another permitted renovation project. Each of the proposed policies and programs in the Plan will require research, evaluation and include opportunities for public comment and participation throughout their development, as well as City Council and/or Public Utility Board approval for implementation.

• Induction cooktop/stove can replace a gas cooktop/stove
• Heat pump water heater replaces traditional gas water heater tanks.
• Heat pump heating and cooling replaces gas furnace and provides air conditioning.
• Electric clothes dryers or combination washer and dryers can replace gas clothes dryers.

Learn more about these electric alternatives on Sustainable Home: Building Electrification

Heat pump technology provides an efficient alternative to electric coil heating or gas heating. It uses electricity to move heat between the air, water and ground rather than generating heat. One heat pump appliance that you are already familiar with is your refrigerator. It moves heat outside your refrigerator so that the inside is cold for your food. Likewise, in space heating and cooling and water heating, heat pumps transfer heat from one place to another.

No – going all electric will actually improve resilience in your home as removing gas infrastructure reduces the risk of fires in the event of an earthquake. Electrical service is also expected to return faster than gas service post disaster.

In the event of a power outage, many modern-day natural gas appliances will also not work as they requires electricity to run fans, motors and electronic ignitions.

AMP’s electric grid is reliable and has two redundant electricity lines feeding in power from PG&E. Each of those lines are capable of handling electricity demand for the entire City which can help reduce the likelihood of long power outages. AMP has also forecasted additional load from building electrification and is confident in their capacity to accommodate additional projected load.

No, there are other organizations that are developing and maintaining contractors lists. You can find them at https://www.bayren.org/find-contractor and https://switchison.cleanenergyconnection.org/

Yes, many of these appliances are already on the market and available at Home Depot or Lowes. More will be coming in the near future.