SAN DIEGO — As Bloomberg first reported, California moved forward Thursday with a plan to ban the sale of new gas-power heaters by 2030.
Just as Governor Gavin Newsom was wrapping up climate week in New York this week, he said the California Air Resources Control Board is arguably the most powerful regulator in the country. Even more so than the EPA.
Right after that, the board unanimously voted to phase out gas powered heaters.
Prime Genius Heating and Air Conditioning Co-Owner Masood Bahrami explained how a gas-power heater works.
"When the gas is running, all those pipes heat up," said Bahrami, as he pointed to the device. "And now the fan that's on, it just blows air over the hot pipe, and that's how your home gets heated up."
Bahrami said gas powered heaters are the most common in homes, especially in his Sacramento market.
“There's a lot of old homes," said Bahrami. "Like 90% probably has gas right now.”
The California Air Resources Control Board voted Thursday to ban the sale of these for both residential and commercial use by 2030. NPR reported there was opposition at the meeting, specifically from an engineer who said it will cost homeowners too much to upgrade.
“You just need one more electrical wire and to get rid of the gas," said Bahrami. "It's not hard at all.”
Bahrami said it’s an easy switch if the gas-powered heater you have now breaks after 2030.
“With gas, you're always paying," said Bahrami. "You can’t have solar for gas."
He said an electric system will cost more- a few thousand more to purchase- but in the long run is probably cheaper. The equipment lasts longer, and you can hook it up to solar.
But the biggest downside to gas for him?
“First, it is not safe,” said Bahrami. "We have gas here, something that what if someday it has a hole in it? You know it can catch on fire. So, you're eliminating a whole problem.”
The recent ruling by the air board part of a larger mission from the state to get the state to be carbon neutral by 2045. They just recently banned the sale of new gasoline powered cars by 2035.
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher slammed the decision this afternoon, saying it “will drive the cost of energy and building a home in California even higher.”
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