The Valley Climate Action Center (VCAC) recently provided $6,000 to Cool Davis to continue their work engaging Davis residents to adopt all-electric heating and cooling systems. The funds will also be used to develop an electric retrofit “roadmap” for existing homes, going directly to programs designed to help Davis households lower their use of natural gas.

An event to mark the occasion included VCAC president Joshua Cunningham handing a check from six-feet away to Cool Davis executive director Chris Granger in front of a ZNE (zero net energy/no natural gas) LEED platinum building on 4th and D streets this past June. Both representatives wore face coverings but removed them briefly for the photo op.

President Joshua Cunningham said, “Moving away from fossil fuels and natural gas is absolutely critical to meet our City’s climate targets; we have a goal of carbon neutrality by 2040 and there’s actually no way to do that without moving away from natural gas in the residential and commercial sectors. VCAC is proud to be able to support this effort financially. We have technical advisors and experts to understand how this transition occurs, but Cool Davis is the organization that has the leadership role with community engagement and behavioral choices. It’s going to require community support organizations like Cool Davis who do direct engagement with homeowners.”

Cool Davis released a video to announce the funding and celebrate what community members are already doing. The video highlights existing and well-tested all-electric technologies as well as simple steps everyone can take to move beyond natural gas.

Households already moving to all-electric in Davis

During the check-passing ceremony, Cool Davis Executive Director Chris Granger stated, “We know that it’s feasible for our households to start to remove natural gas and replace it with electricity. There’s great new equipment coming out and solutions for all different housing types. We have households moving on that right now in our community. Cool Davis will do all it can to provide people with information to get that done and to encourage the City to set even higher standards to get us all off natural gas. With these funds, we will be able to do our part for our region, for our state, for our country, and for this planet to remove fossil fuels from our lives. Going all-electric is one of the really important things we have to do to make that happen.”

Moving our community towards a better and brighter future

With these new funds in hand, Cool Davis plans to provide guidance for households, host workshops, produce how-to videos, promote applicable incentive and rebate programs, and highlight stories of community members already taking steps towards reducing fossil fuel usage.

Cool Davis also plans to develop a retrofit roadmap to establish a game plan for Davis homes to move toward energy efficient, all-electric households. This roadmap will give homeowners step-by-step guidance. The VCAC grant will facilitate coordinating the work of UC Davis student volunteers and integrating activities with the overall Cool Davis energy campaign.

 

VCAC president Joshua Cunningham handing a check from six-feet away to Cool Davis executive director Chris Granger in front of a ZNE (zero net energy and no natural gas) LEED platinum building on 4th and D streets this past June. Both wore face coverings but removed them briefly for the photo op. Photo credit: Johan Verink.

2020 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP)

The City of Davis has started the 2020 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) update, following adoption of the first CAAP in 2010. The 2020 CAAP will include robust community and local expert engagement, with assistance of the selected consultant for technical expertise, to meet our community wide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. Based on the Climate Emergency Declaration adopted by Davis City Council in March 2019, the community carbon neutrality target has been moved back to 2040. The City of Davis and Cool Davis are working jointly on rooftop solar, electric vehicle adoption, and other campaigns to achieve these goals. Significant policy development, planning, and community participation will be required. We look forward to engaging Davis households in this important work to improve our community’s quality of life.

Solar power at the root of clean energy

Solar energy is the primary renewable power source that will allow Davis homes to go all-electric. Cool Davis solar task force chairman Aaron Nitzkin highlighted this in an article published this past February. “Powering these appliances and systems, and helping make net-zero homes possible, is clean solar energy. Solar panels on rooftops deliver emissions-free power into the home. … Advances in all these clean energy technologies, dramatic reductions in costs, and the recognition by government leaders that homes can be all-electric without sacrificing creature comforts or breaking the bank, are making the shift away from fossil fuels realistic.”

New construction in Davis has already gone all-electric

The VCAC grant will allow Cool Davis to provide information and advice on the best options to retrofit existing housing to become all-electric. New construction has already received an all-electric jump start. As of this past January, an all-electric reach code for new construction — promoted by VCAC and adopted by the City of Davis — is designed to incentivize all-electric single-family dwellings and low-rise multi-family buildings. A builder may choose to go all-electric up front or, if they build with mixed fuels, they must implement higher energy efficiency standards and include pre-wiring for all-electric appliances. This ultimately makes the all-electric option cost effective and allows builders to avoid the expense of natural gas infrastructure.

Relevant state decisions, the full City staff report, and the City ordinance can be found on the City of Davis website.

State heat pump water heater rebates

A statewide effort to substitute heat pump water heaters for the gas heaters now used in most California homes is underway. The state is expected to initiate a $44 million incentive program for all-electric heat pump water heaters in coming months. Cool Davis plans to help disseminate information about this program and hopes to receive additional funds from VCAC to further for this work.

This article was a collaborative effort with contributions by Joshua Cunningham, Kerry Loux, Chrissy Backman, and Michael Kluk.

To learn more about the Valley Climate Action Center, visit https://climateactioncenter.org/

To learn more, visit our Home Heating and Cooling page (www.cooldavis.org/home-heat-cool)

Cool Davis accepts tax-deductible donations, visit www.cooldavis.org/donate-now to donate now. If your business or organization is interested in sponsorship opportunities, email sponsorship@cooldavis.org.