Natural Gas Bans Prevalent on East and West Coasts
On the West Coast, natural gas bans have been enacted in Washington, Oregon and California, Sturm says. On the East Coast, they can be found in Massachusetts, while others have been proposed in states along the East Coast.
The Boston City Council adopted amendments in late 2021 that fortify the Building Energy Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, the JLL guide notes. This mandated that large buildings monitor and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and use audits and energy efficiency upgrades to reach emissions-reduction goals in the next several years.
New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act’s Local Law 97 requires buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to meet challenging carbon reduction targets.
“For building owners, the type of equipment that’s going to be used to produce heat in buildings will likely be different than what they may have become accustomed to,” Sturm says. “In heating, ventilation and air conditioning [HVAC], we are seeing the growing use of heat pump equipment and equipment that’s able to recover heat from cooling equipment.”
More Changes Expected in 3 to 5 Years
Sturm predicts that in the next three to five years, “we expect that more jurisdictions will adopt natural gas bans, and more projects will require electrified heat.” This means similar, but different, types of air conditioning equipment will be required in new buildings, he says.
These changes may not have as large of an impact on existing buildings, Sturm says, because systems in those buildings will likely be grandfathered in, and therefore not be covered by the new laws.
For stakeholders likely to face higher heat electrification hurdles in the not-too-distant future, rest assured. “HVAC manufacturers have been preparing for this for a long time,” Sturm says.
BOMA International will be releasing a Policy Brief in December 2022 that explores the electrification issue in more detail. For more information on BOMA’s carbon reduction resources, go to www.boma.org/carbon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rhonda Smith is BOMA International's Editor and Content Writer