Why Electrify? A Guide to All-Electric Buildings in California

What is building electrification?

Building electrification means running a building entirely on electricity, with no fuel burned on site. Gas furnaces, gas water heaters and gas stoves are replaced with electric heat pumps and induction cooktops.

Why does that matter? Electricity can come from the sun, wind and water, and California's grid gets cleaner every year. Gas cannot get cleaner: every therm burned releases carbon dioxide, and burning it indoors affects the air we breathe. An all-electric building gets cleaner over its whole life as the grid does.

At Praxis Architecture and Integrative Design, we see electrification as one part of a larger goal: buildings that generate energy, harvest water, store carbon and strengthen the communities around them.

Why it matters now

In 2024, 67% of the electricity sold in California came from clean, carbon-free sources, up from 59% in 2020 (California Energy Commission). The grid keeps getting cleaner, so a building that runs on electricity keeps getting cleaner too.

• In 2025, clean energy met 100% of demand on California's main grid for part of the day on 279 days.
• In the first half of 2026, Californians used more solar power than natural gas for the first time.
• State law (SB 100) requires 100% clean retail electricity by 2045.

The chart below compares the yearly climate pollution from five kinds of homes. The all-electric homes produce roughly one-fifth of the emissions of a comparable gas home, and the gap widens as the grid gets cleaner.

Health and safety matter too. Burning gas indoors releases pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide into the air your family breathes. Removing gas lines also removes the risk of gas leaks, carbon monoxide and gas-fed fires after an earthquake.

When we use energy matters as much as how much

California makes more solar power than it needs at midday, then demand jumps between about 4 and 9 pm just as the sun sets. Plotted over a day, the grid's demand looks like a duck's belly and neck, so energy planners call it the duck curve. The evening ramp is when the dirtiest, most expensive gas "peaker" plants have historically switched on.

Batteries are changing this. California now has more than 21,000 MW of battery storage, up from under 700 MW in 2019. About 3,000 MW of that sits in more than 300,000 homes, schools, farms and businesses (CEC, August 2026). Batteries soak up midday sun and release it in the evening. Between the first halves of 2024 and 2026, the state's use of natural gas for power fell by about half.

Buildings can help in simple ways:

• Shift use to midday. Pre-cool or pre-heat in the afternoon, and time water heaters and EV chargers to run when solar is plentiful.
• Store energy you already have. A well-insulated house or a full tank of hot water is a "thermal battery" that costs almost nothing extra.
• Add a battery where it pays off. Under time-of-use rates, stored solar is worth most in the evening, and a battery keeps key circuits running during outages.

How we approach an all-electric building

We follow the same order on every project, because each step makes the next one smaller and cheaper.

1. Passive first. A tight, well-insulated envelope with the right windows and shading is the foundation. It shrinks the heating and cooling load before any equipment is chosen, and it keeps working for the life of the building with no moving parts.
2. Model the building early. A simple energy model shows how much energy the building will use and at what times of day. Some buildings are driven by heating, some by cooling and some by hot water. Knowing which one guides every later decision.
3. Go all-electric from day one. Deciding early lets the engineers size the electrical service, panel and utility connection correctly, which avoids costly changes later. Heat pumps then handle heating, cooling and hot water.
4. Choose low-impact refrigerants. Heat pumps use refrigerants that are powerful greenhouse gases if they leak. Since January 1, 2025, new home heat pumps and air conditioners can no longer be made with R-410A; they now use R-454B or R-32, which fall below the EPA's global warming potential limit of 700. We also look at natural refrigerants such as CO2 for water heating.
5. Measure the results. We track a building's predicted Energy Use Intensity (EUI): its yearly energy use divided by its floor area. A lower number means a more efficient building.

EUI tells only part of the story. A building that uses a bit more energy but shifts it to sunny hours can cause less pollution than one with a lower EUI that runs hard every evening. That is why we look at both how much and when.

Practical tips for homes and buildings

• Kitchens. Induction cooktops heat faster than gas, are easy to clean and add no combustion fumes to the kitchen. They are nothing like the old electric coil stoves many people remember. For cooks who love a wok flame, a small portable burner for occasional use is a simple middle ground.
• Hot water. Heat pump water heaters use roughly a third to a quarter of the energy of standard electric tanks. Newer 120-volt plug-in models can often replace a gas heater without new wiring.
• Avoid costly panel upgrades. Circuit-sharing devices and smart panels let big appliances take turns, so many homes can go all-electric on their existing electrical service.
• Heating in cold climates. Modern cold-climate heat pumps keep working well below freezing, which covers nearly all of California, including mountain areas.
• EV charging. Set chargers to run midday or overnight. Some newer cars and chargers can also power a home during an outage ("vehicle-to-home").
• Batteries and solar. Both carry real manufacturing emissions, so size them to actual needs and use free storage first, such as hot water tanks and a well-insulated envelope.

Codes, rules and incentives in 2026

The rules changed a lot between 2022 and 2026. State code now points new buildings toward all-electric, while federal tax credits for homeowners have ended. Here is where things stand.

State, utility and local rebates are still available and change often. The Switch Is On incentive finder is a good place to check what applies to your address.

Common questions

Does all-electric cost more?

For new construction, usually not. Skipping gas piping, a gas meter and venting saves money up front; one analysis estimated a new all-electric California home costs about $3,000 to $10,000 less to build than a mixed-fuel home (Canary Media). Retrofits vary, which is why we plan them carefully and in stages.

What happens in a power outage?

Modern gas furnaces, water heaters and most stoves also need electricity to run, so they stop in an outage too. An all-electric building with solar and a battery, or an EV that can power the home, can keep running.

What about earthquakes?

Electric service is generally restored much faster than gas after a major earthquake, because gas lines must be checked for leaks building by building before service returns. Removing gas also removes a major cause of post-earthquake fires.

Do I have to give up my gas stove?

No one is required to remove working gas appliances in existing homes. Electrification can happen step by step, often when an old appliance wears out.

Why is this an equity issue?

Gas pipelines have large fixed costs. As more customers leave the gas system, those costs fall on fewer households, often renters and lower-income families who cannot easily switch. Planning an orderly, fair transition protects them.

Further resources

Data and grid

• Clean Energy Serving California — progress toward 100% clean power
• CAISO Today's Outlook — live view of the grid, including the duck curve
• GridOptimal — New Buildings Institute metrics for grid-friendly buildings

Codes and policy

• 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards — the current Title 24 energy code
• Local Energy Codes — reach codes and cost-effectiveness studies by city
• Building Decarbonization Coalition — policy updates and local code efforts
• Sierra Club: After AB 130, California Cities Must Lead — what cities can still do

Homeowner and design guides

• Switch Is On — California rebates, contractors and appliance guides
• Redwood Energy research — practical all-electric design guides
• Rewiring America — electrification planning tools
• Ava Community Energy — East Bay clean power provider (formerly East Bay Community Energy)