San Carlos Says “No” to Natural Gas in Homes.

Changes are Coming.

In their most recent meeting, the San Carlos City Council voted to enact an ordinance that will ultimately eliminate the use of natural gas in new residential and commercial properties in the City. This ordinance, which mirrors the move afoot in neighboring cities, includes exceptions that will facilitate a more gradual change away from natural gas, according this article in the Daily Journal.

For example, the initial ordinance only applies to new home construction, or any remodel that has 50% or more of structural change — but gas cook tops and fireplaces will still be allowed, at least for now. So if you're not a fan yet of induction cook tops, you get to keep your gas burners for a while longer. The biggest impact will be on the other appliances that are traditionally gas powered — the furnace, hot water heater, and of course your clothes dryer. Electric clothes dryers have been around forever, but electric furnaces and hot water heaters have not. From the construction experts that I spoke with about these, not only are they significantly more expensive to purchase and operate than their gas equivalent, they're also much harder to find. So these two appliances may pose the biggest problem for near-term projects that are forced to comply with the regulation.

The same construction experts also seem to believe that it's only a matter of time before the exemption for gas cook tops and fireplaces is phased out too, due to pressure from the State of California. So if you're planning a significant remodel of your house any time soon, you need to factor in the additional cost of electric appliances. And while you're at it, you may even want to give the induction cook top a try. I have several clients who reluctantly switched from gas to induction, and after a quick transition period they absolutely swear by induction.