The Zero Emission Home

Though it’s often marketed as “clean” energy, natural gas is a fossil fuel and a leading source of climate pollution in British Columbia. And when used in kitchen appliances, it can pose serious health risks for vulnerable children.

Fortunately, solutions are close at hand in the form of healthier, non-polluting electric heating and cooking technologies. Take a pass on natural gas and transition towards healthier, zero emission homes.

Home Heating

When the time comes to retire your natural-gas furnace, switch it up to an electric heat pump. Here are some of the reasons it’s a good idea:

British Columbia’s grid electricity is exceptionally clean; at least 94 percent is generated from renewable sources. That makes an electric heat pump the most climate-forward home heating and cooling solution.
Replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump is one of the biggest moves you can make for the climate. Depending on the age of your home, you could shrink your carbon footprint by up to 87 per cent.
Heat pumps are three to four times more energy-efficient than natural-gas heating systems or electric baseboard heaters.
Every heat pump doubles as an air conditioner. In warmer months, you can hit a button and run it in reverse to cool your home!
In a well-insulated home, heat pumps can cost about the same to operate as a natural gas heating system. Provincial rebates help bring down the price of a heat pump, and many local governments now offer top-up incentives.
The City of Vancouver will require new-home builders to install zero-emissions space and water-heating systems, such as heat pumps, starting in 2022.

Water Heating

When your natural-gas water heater burns out, tell your contractor you want to switch up to an electric heat-pump water heater.

A heat-pump water heater works like a space heating system, but instead of heating your home, it heats water. Got teens at home? Like long hot showers? No worries; a heat-pump water heater can handle it.
A heat-pump water heater is very efficient and the most climate-forward method of heating water available in the province.

Cooking

If you will be replacing appliances in a kitchen renovation, or if your natural-gas oven is approaching retirement age, switch up to an electric model with an induction cooktop. Here’s why:

Electric induction cooktops are extremely responsive. They will boil water far more quickly than a gas cooktop, and are sensitive enough to melt butter and chocolate without burning.
Electric-induction cooktops are safer than gas, because they remain cool to the touch. They heat the saucepan, not the surface it sits on. There is no open flame that could accidentally catch a dish towel or sleeve on fire.
Professional chefs are replacing their gas ranges with electric ovens and electric-induction cooktops because they prefer their superior temperature control.
If you can’t afford to replace your gas range, or if you rent your home, you can still purchase a plug-in induction electric cooktop and use it for most of your cooking. If you boil water in a stovetop kettle, consider an electric model.

Ready to take action?

SWITCH IT UP