Electrify Your Home
Reduce your carbon footprint by replacing your home’s natural gas and other fossil fuel appliances with electric appliances.
Where to Electrify Your Home
Buildings account for about 14% of California’s emissions – and most of these emissions come from the use of natural gas for space and water heating.1
1CARB 2000-2019 GHG Inventory (2021 edition, by economic sector) and 2019 CEC Residential Appliance Saturation Survey (RASS)
Fossil Fuel Appliances with Cleaner Electric Options
- Heat pump water heaters (HPWHs)
- Heat pump furnaces for space heating and cooling
- Major appliances: stoves, ovens, cooktops, clothes dryers, etc.
Home Electrification Technology
- Electrical panel upgrades
- Smart home controls
- Solar panels and battery storage
- Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Electrify with Heat Pump Furnaces and Water Heaters
Heat pump furnaces use electricity to transfer (rather than generate) heat. During warmer months, heat pumps transfer heat from inside your home to outside; and during cooler months, heat pumps transfer heat from outside your home to inside.
Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly. To move heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse. Heat pump water heaters are most efficient when surrounded by warm air, so they are typically located in garages, basements or areas without air-conditioning.
Image Credit: Energystar.gov
How to Begin Electrifying Your Home
- Determine your home’s age. If your home was built prior to 1979, it may need significant upgrades to electrical panels and wiring to increase the building’s electrical capacity.
- Take inventory of home appliances that could be switched to electric. Major appliances – clothes dryers, space and water heating equipment, and kitchen appliances such as stoves, ovens, cooktops, etc. – may have alternative versions that run on electricity.
- Identify local, state and federal programs that can assist with the cost of upgrades. See the “Incentive Programs” section below for more details on how to participate in these programs.
- Consider whether you can pair appliance upgrades with other technologies. For example, can you pair your home appliances with EV charging infrastructure, solar panel installation or solar battery storage?
- Find an installer.
Incentive Programs
State and Utility Programs
These state and utility programs provide incentives for heat pump technologies:
- Golden State Rebates – offers instant rebates toward the purchase of energy-efficient products
- The Switch Is On – provides resources and incentives for clean energy installations
- Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) program - to launch mid-2023 or later
Federal Programs
Signed into law in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act provides new federal rebates, tax credits and deductions and other incentives for electric and energy-efficiency upgrades in homes and buildings.
Federal Tax Credits and Deductions
- Clean Energy Tax Credits for Consumers
- Tax Credits for Home Builders
- Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings
Federal Rebates (More Information Coming Soon)
- High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program – provides a maximum of $14,000 for building electrification and weatherization
- Homeowner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Rebate Program – provides rebates to homeowners and aggregators for whole-house energy saving retrofits; rebates vary based on energy savings
Pricing Plans for Electrified Homes
Maximize savings on the TOU-ELEC pricing plan with the adoption of clean energy technology. Designed for customers that own an electric vehicle, energy storage, and/or an electric heat pump for water heating or climate control.
TOU-ELEC’s monthly service fee reduces the average price you pay per unit of energy (kWh) compared to pricing plans without a monthly service fee. This can help reduce dramatic swings in bill amounts.
If you are a large electricity user who can shift your energy use to lower-priced times of day, the TOU-ELEC pricing plan may save you money. TOU-ELEC is most beneficial for customers who can program their EV charging, battery storage or electric heat pump to run during super off-peak times.
Additional Resources
Programs to Save Energy and Money
Learn about SDG&E’s commitment to sustainability and ways to save energy and money: