Using gas-powered appliances to heat air and water in homes and businesses is a significant driver of unhealthy air quality in the Bay Area, responsible for more lung-damaging nitrogen oxide pollution than the region's passenger cars. Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately burdened by this pollution.
In an effort to improve air quality, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has passed regulations that will phase out the sale of gas heating in buildings, starting in 2027 for residential water heaters and 2029 for residential HVAC systems. In the years before the standard goes into effect, local, regional, and state policymakers have a critical window of opportunity to develop implementation strategies that will ensure the transition to pollution-free heating equipment advances as smoothly and equitably as possible.
This toolbox, created by SPUR and our partners in the Bay Area Clean Air coalition, offers policymakers and advocates five strategies and 30 actions for moving the ball forward toward 100% zero-pollution appliances. Jurisdictions should consider which of the tools work best for them.