Washington is the first state to require all-electric heating in new buildings

[TexasTowelie]

Washington recently became the first state in the country to mandate that newly constructed buildings be outfitted with all-electric space heating and hot water systems.

The State Building Code Council voted 11-3 on April 22 to adopt a revised energy code that requires most new commercial buildings and large multifamily buildings to install electric heat pumps. The council is expected to consider a similar proposal for smaller residential buildings later this year.

Heat pumps are an extremely energy-efficient technology that can extract heat from the outside air, even on very cold days, and pump it inside to provide space heating. They can also run in reverse and provide cooling in the summer. The revised code also mandates the use of heat-pump hot water heaters.

The news comes shortly after another high-profile effort to ban gas in new buildings in New York state was dropped during tense budget negotiations in early April.

Read more: https://crosscut.com/environment/2022/05/washington-first-state-require-all-electric-heating-new-buildings

[hlthe2b]

1. My first house had all electric heating which became very undesirable because of rising $$$

and buyers ONLY wanted natural gas. We've come full circle, so I guess climate change has at least pushed in that direction...

Given the decades in-between it feels really strange, though.

[PXR-5]

2. Electric heating has come along way since then.

We went electric heat pump last year, we saved about a $1000.00 last winter over using propane to heat our home.

[twodogsbarking]

5. We have an electric heat pump upstairs and natural gas heat down.

The heat pump exceeds my expectations. Baseboard electric sucks.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. When the power goes out, so does your heat. Have fun taking a shower in January.

Or will a natural gas line be run to your house for a water heater and a stove?

[PJMcK]

4. I'm skeptical, too

Our house is in the Catskills mountains and we have frequent power outages. They usually last less than an hour but it's still an inconvenience.

To protect the house when we're away in the cold months, I bought an automatic generator that runs off our propane tank. It was a really benefit this past winter!

I guess in the future, when we've converted the house to all-electric, I could keep the generator as a back-up.