this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
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Oh for heaven's sake. By now, building codes should prohibit new single-family and low-density (< 12 units) multi-family construction with gas hookups, without solar that matches expected electrical demand, and without 3 days of battery backup.
If that means a 900 square foot house instead of a 2500 square foot house and no more low-density multi-family construction so be it.
Likewise, the building codes should require some of that stuff during certain kinds of renovations and repairs. For example, replacing a gas furnace with another gas furnace should be prohibited.
If the grid and manufacturing capacity won't handle it today, then they better damn well get going, because that's what it's going to take.
I love the spirit. We need people making demands like this to move the needle. It's totally insane that it's still possible buy ornamental gas fireplaces that don't even heat the space.
Or that we use propane heaters on patios to heat the outdoors.
Re banning replacement has furnaces... maybe tie it to the scope of work. Like if your furnace breaks down in the winter and you're just replacing it that's one thing, but if you're actually renovating that's something else.
I get so cranky when I see those things. They are just... nonsensical. It's almost like there is something in the human psyche that is drawn to the abjectly useless, especially if it also happens to be wasteful beyond it's mere production and distribution.
Three days of battery would greatly increase the expense of new construction at a time when everywhere is trying to bring prices down. The battery capacity you would have to have, especially if you use electric heating, would be very high and therefor very expensive. Looking at some quick numbers online solar and battery like that would easily add ca$100k to a construction project.
True enough, and a valid consideration that must be accounted for in any actual change to building codes.
Keep in mind that I said "by now" not "starting today". Obviously, having done little to this point, we can't just jump to perfection in one step.
It's worth pointing out that Ford claims that their F-150 Lightning can provide up to 3 days of backup power to a household in some configurations. Given what seems to be a trend of building EVs that are capable of providing backup power to households, that should be factored in as we move forward.
And it doesn't have to be 3 days. Overnight in summer would be a good start, followed by overnight in winter, then moving on from there.
The real issue is that I see $350k houses being built in Saskatchewan with nothing. No solar, no heat pump, no passive heating or cooling, and sketchy insulation. The latter 2 were figured out in the 1980s and nothing has been done since at the building code level.
That same money would build a house 1/2 to 1/3 the size, a still adequate size, with solar, heat pumps, good insulation, and decent passive heating and cooling.