Full Title: Innovation Acceleration: How building decarbonization has transformed the U.S. building sector in just four years
Author(s): Building Decarbonization Coalition
Publisher(s): Building Decarbonization Coalition
Publication Date: February 15, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Almost 100 municipalities and four states have now adopted policies that require or encourage building electrification. As a result, the entire landscape of building in the U.S. has permanently changed. This movement has transformed numerous sectors and industries and will forever alter how American households perform basic necessities like heating and cooling their living spaces, cooking their meals, or getting hot water. Innovative companies are responding to these market signals. New technologies like cold-climate heat pumps and battery-powered induction stoves are rolling out and solving some of the most challenging aspects of making buildings 100% electric. Because they deliver unmatched efficiency and are pollution free, electric appliances lower energy usage and save money on bills, while making buildings healthier, safer, more comfortable, and with better indoor air quality.
All-electric buildings create a better quality of life for Americans while slashing a massive portion of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. A growing body of scientific research has also exposed the concerning health risks of living in homes with gas appliances like stoves and furnaces, and added greater urgency to the building decarbonization movement. Studies have shown that gas appliances leak toxic chemicals and carcinogens such as benzene even while turned off, and pollution from gas stove use is attributed to one in every eight cases of childhood asthma in the U.S. Because methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, leaks in the delivery system also compound climate change impacts.
This report captures how quickly perceptions have shifted, how the market is reacting to the swift policy development and consumer preference for electric appliances, and gauges the impact this shift has had on the spaces where we live, work, learn, and play. It charts a path to achieve a just transition away from fossil fuels and fully unlock building decarbonization’s potential to create pollution-free homes, schools, and workplaces in every community in the U.S.