In the unglamorous pages of local and state law books lies one of the most powerful tools for reducing carbon emissions: building codes.

Local governments in Washington state, including Seattle, Tacoma and Shoreline, have already put this powerful tool to use, amending their building codes to restrict the installation of natural gas in new commercial buildings. Now, climate advocates are looking toward a potential win at the state level. The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) is considering two code proposals that would require high-efficiency electric equipment (heat pumps) for space and water heating in new commercial buildings in the 2022 Washington State Energy Code.

If these proposals succeed, they will eliminate 8.1 million tons of CO2 by 2050, RMI analysis shows. The emissions reductions would be equivalent to removing 1.8 million cars from the road for a year. Despite efforts by the gas industry to delay this shift and further build out the gas system, the SBCC should seize this critical moment to align the state’s building codes with climate science.

The Opportunity: Benefits of All-electric Building Code

Fewer Emissions
The high percentage of renewable energy in Washington’s grid makes going all-electric a no-brainer. A 2020 RMI analysis found that in Seattle, a new all-electric home would reduce carbon emissions by more than 93 percent compared to a mixed-fuel home. The vast difference between all-electric and mixed-fuel emissions in Washington is primarily because the state’s electric grid is already 80 percent decarbonized and should be 100 percent carbon-free by 2045.

More Efficient
In addition to meeting climate goals, heat pumps provide an opportunity for buildings to become more efficient and use less energy overall. Washington state law already requires that the SBCC update the energy code to reduce 70 percent of the annual energy consumption from buildings by 2031 compared to a 2006 baseline. The SBCC has calculated that every energy code update (which happens every three years) must achieve a 19 percent reduction in energy consumption in order to reach the 2031 goal. Heat pumps are at least two to four times more efficient than gas appliances at providing space and water heating, and they have the added advantage of being able to run on carbon-free electricity, making them perfect candidates for reaching both energy and climate goals.

Read the full article about building electrification codes by Jonny Kocher and Talor Gruenwald at GreenBiz.