A Guide to California Whole Home Electrification

October 27, 2023

California is making big moves towards a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 with a push for all-electric buildings. Electrification may sound intimidating, but with this guide from Hassler Heating & Air, you’ll know exactly what steps to take in order to step away from fossil fuels for good. With a little help from our team, making the switch to an all-electric home has never been easier—from heat pumps to induction stoves and incentives, we’ll cover it all!

Benefits of Electrification

Electric home systems can help you combat climate change by reducing your carbon footprint. In addition to stepping away from fossil fuels, electrification can provide many benefits to California homeowners, like:

A Healthier Home Environment: Electric appliances and home equipment do not use combustion as an energy source, meaning they eliminate your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or explosion. This also means that you’ll transition to using cleaner energy and your home will have better indoor air quality.

Lower Energy Costs: Replacing your home’s inefficient systems with those powered by electricity may also increase its performance, making your energy bills more affordable.

Energy Efficiency: Electric HVAC systems are more energy: efficient than their fossil fuel counterparts, leading to reduced energy consumption and possibly lower utility bills. (Depending on your utility provider selected electricy rate plan).

Indoor Air Quality: Electric HVAC systems typically have advanced air filtration and purification technologies, resulting in improved indoor air quality by removing allergens, pollutants, and contaminants.

Zoning Possibilities: Electrified systems with ductless technology allow for more precise zoning, enabling homeowners to control individual room temperatures and optimize energy usage according to specific needs.

Integration with Renewables: Electric HVAC systems can easily integrate with renewable energy sources like solar panels, maximizing the utilization of clean energy and further reducing costs.

Technological Advancements: Electric HVAC technology is rapidly advancing, leading to innovations such as smart thermostats, remote control capabilities, and predictive maintenance features, enhancing convenience and efficiency.

Consistent Temperature: Heat pumps provide consistent heating and cooling by maintaining a stable indoor temperature, eliminating drastic temperature fluctuations.

Humidity Control: Heat pumps have the ability to dehumidify the air, keeping indoor humidity levels in check and enhancing overall comfort, especially during humid periods.

At Hassler, we recommend starting your electrification process with an energy assessment. By determining where your home has inefficiencies, you can make improvements to its performance—and ultimately get more out of your electric systems. You’ll start seeing the benefits of lower utility costs before you even start electrifying your home with upgrades to energy efficient windows and sealing your building envelope.

How to Electrify Your Home

Going electric in your home involves transitioning your combustion-powered appliances to electric ones. Below you’ll find the most common fossil fuel appliances and what we recommend replacing them with at Hassler.

Heating & Cooling

Heating and cooling account for more than half of a home’s energy usage and upgrading to an electric system will make a huge impact towards your electrification goals. For heating and cooling capabilities and versatility, many homeowners are switching to heat pump for electrification. Whether you have ductwork in your home or want to install a ductless mini split system, heat pumps are a great option for many East Bay homes.

Water Heating

Water heating also contributes to a significant amount of energy use within a home, making them another great option when considering performance upgrades and electrification. Heat pump water heaters utilize the ambient heat that already exists in your home and repurpose it for water heating. When it comes to gas vs. electric water heaters, these electric systems are reliable and use 2 to 3 times less energy than traditional water heaters.

Kitchen Appliances

While they were trendy at one time, gas stoves and ovens waste a lot of energy and are top contributors to poor indoor air quality. Not only are induction burners safer because of the eliminated risk of gas leaks, they also don’t hold residual heat once they’re turned off—meaning they’re also less of a fire hazard when compared to gas stoves. While we don’t install kitchen appliances at Hassler, they are still an important part of the electrification process.

Dryer

Whether your current dryer is gas-powered or electric, heat pump dryers can provide benefits and electrify your home. Heat pump dryers work as a closed loop system that reuses the warm air it needs to dry your clothes. They work without the need for ventilation and require less energy to provide efficient drying. The Hassler team doesn’t install clothes dryers, but their electric replacements are necessary for electrification.

Consider Your Electricity Usage

When making electrification upgrades to your home, it’s important to evaluate your electric panel and your electricity usage. Since you will be converting all of your energy to electricity, there is a chance that your panel needs to be upgraded as well in order to handle the additional load. You can also weigh the options of generating your own electricity with solar panel installation. The solar panel cost can oftentimes pay for itself by reducing your electricity bills.

Electrify One Piece at a Time with Hassler Heating & Air

You don’t need to make all of the electrification upgrades to your home at one time in order to get the benefits. At Hassler, we can help you build a customized plan for electrifying your home, one step at a time. Our team can also help you find local and federal tax credits and rebates that are available to California residents. With incentives, like BayREN rebates and federal tax credit, you can reach your home electrification goals without breaking the bank.