Building Electrification to Bring Cleaner Air, Reduce Construction Bills, Says Pasadena Group

With the City Council voting unanimously to move forward with crafting an ordinance that would ban gas infrastructure in new buildings, a coalition of local groups in Pasadena is advocating passing a strong electrification policy and having it implemented as soon as possible.

The contemplated ordinance would require all-electric powered new buildings in an effort to combat climate change.

The use of gas in buildings contributes to climate change and represents about 10 percent of California’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Michael Rochmes, Chair of the Green Buildings Committee said.

The Green Buildings Committee, formed in 2021, is part of the Pasadena Building Electrification Coalition – a coalition of local groups, which rally support for the passage of an all-electric building code in the city.

“The reason that we support banning gas in new construction is that natural gas and methane, primarily, is a greenhouse gas. So, when methane goes into the atmosphere, it makes climate change worse,” he said.

According to Rochmes, switching to all-electric has various benefits including the improvement of indoor air quality in homes.

“One big benefit is indoor air quality. So when you have a gas stove and you’re cooking, if you don’t use that vent that’s above your stove, the gas that’s burning is causing the indoor air to actually be worse quality than the outdoor air.”

“That’s really bad for people. With electric stoves, that’s much, much less.”

All-electric buildings are also less expensive to construct and maintain, Rochmes added.

Just last week, the City Council greenlighted the crafting of an ordinance that would prohibit gas infrastructure in new commercial and residential buildings in Pasadena, except for restaurants, residential family units with less than 3 units, single-family dwellings and accessory dwelling units, among others.

It is anticipated that the ordinance will take effect this July after the approval of the City Council.

Rochmes lauded the city for the move, saying banning gas infrastructure in new buildings is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce GHG emissions.

“It’s not everything we asked for, but we are definitely happy that they’re (City Council) taking the step.”

Rochmes said the Green Buildings Committee and the Pasadena Building Electrification Coalition will make sure that the electrification ordinance will be implemented and that the City Council will expand it in the future to include single-family dwellings and accessory dwelling units as well.

He said in order to address the climate crisis, everything must be all electric by 2045.

As of 2009, approximately 47 percent of Pasadena’s GHG emissions are from residential and commercial energy use with residential energy use totaling 16 percent and commercial energy use totaling 31 percent, according to the City of Pasadena’s Climate Action Plan.

As of March, 2022, at least 54 municipalities throughout California have adopted ordinances to begin decarbonizing buildings, using an array of regulatory approaches.