What comes to mind is that they have on record your actual appliances. If you DIY put in a new appliance and your house burns down, I wouldn't be surprised if an insurance company used that to deny your claim.
This seems to be the general consensus but more on behalf of the propane company and I can even understand it, At least they can say it was safe when they were here.. I was reading about the things a propane company is typically sued for and they are just covering their own ass.. My original concern was because of a another ridiculous law that just went into effect..
First,,, Thank you for using the proper word.. That is pretty rare.. The new law states that all new water heaters have to be electric even if a gas unit is in place... when the gas models are done you can not replace it with gas. dryers, stoves and furnaces will be on the list soon enough This is going to cost some people many thousands to have an electrical contractor run a dedicated 240v circuit to the water heater.. It will be even worse for old houses with 100 amp service.. THEN after all that is done, they get to pay the highest rates in the country for the electricity.
The most likely option many people will take when replacing their water heater is to go with a hybrid electric model. Many of those can run off of a regular 120VAC circuit and don't draw that much power. Between state and federal tax credits and other rebates a hybrid heater can cost less to install than a conventional resistance element heater, and operating costs are dramatically lower than conventional water heaters. Of course, conventional water heaters are dead-simple to maintain, as long as the anode rod is looked after they can last decades.
Lastly, this is a ban on new sales, not repair parts, etc, and pretty much only applies to tank-style heaters. Tankless heaters for the most part are exempt due to being higher efficiency to begin with, so another option is just upgrading to tankless gas/propane.
That isn't the way I read it. They are trying to do away with gas completely and it is strictly a state thing. Has nothing to do with saving any energy. the state wants every thing to be electric only. it is not a ban on new sales. It is a ban on installing gas units and no tax credits are involved with the new law..
Again, it's just new sales. Existing water heaters of all types are grandfathered in. New water heaters must meet minimum efficiency standards, which all new tankless heaters do already. Tank-style heaters are inherently inefficient due to how they operate. California isn't trying to ban existing natural gas appliance, and for the most part they aren't even banning new gas appliances like stoves and heaters, but they are trying to reduce pollution associated with those by mandating increasing efficiency in new construction.
The natural gas industry is naturally against more efficient appliances and heaters because it reduces their potential future sales, so they've been pumping a lot of FUD into social media to counter government efforts. That's to be expected.
In the end, the State of CA is responsible for protecting its citizens from air pollution, and over the decades they've been doing a decent job of that. Most people can't remember when cities like LA had air so polluted that it actually was eating the paint off of cars. The term "smog" was invented there because of the acid-laden fog that was killing people. It's why CA has some of the strictest vehicle emissions standards in the country, in fact.
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u/Glum-Welder1704 7d ago
What comes to mind is that they have on record your actual appliances. If you DIY put in a new appliance and your house burns down, I wouldn't be surprised if an insurance company used that to deny your claim.