Question: My husband and I want to replace the old cooktop and wall oven in our kitchen, and prefer a natural gas cooktop and an electric oven.

Our concern is that we have read news articles saying that natural gas appliances are on the way out even though it seems like just a few years ago natural gas was being advertised as the clean fuel for cooking and heating.

We live in a home that was built in the early 1960s, we have natural gas currently for heating, cooking, clothes drying and an outdoor grill. Our circuit breaker panel is the original panel, and we wonder if it can support new electric appliances.

Please let us know what you think.

Your Handyman: Very timely question! You are correct that it was not many years ago that natural gas was being promoted as the clean source of energy for homes, buses, cars, trucks and for electricity-generating power plants.

The political winds in California have shifted in a new direction and the current leadership is on a mission to eliminate the use of natural gas because it is a fossil fuel and the gases created by burning it for energy contributes to global warming.

The California Air Resources Board in Sacramento is an unelected body that most Californians probably have never heard of, but wields an incredible amount of power over our daily lives.

The news has been a little murky, but it is my understanding that on Jan. 1, 2030, it will no longer be legal in California for any appliance store or big box store like The Home Depot to sell natural gas water heaters or furnaces in the state and they must only sell the electric versions.

This doesn’t mean that a government official is going to enter your home and start disconnecting your gas appliances, but if your gas water heater or furnace stops working after Jan. 1, 2030, you will only be able to purchase an electric replacement.

You may remember that about two years ago there was an effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to put an end to natural gas stoves and ovens based on health concerns over poor indoor ventilation, so it seems likely to me that this ban on natural gas appliances will eventually include water heaters, cooktops, ovens, furnaces, clothes dryers, barbecue grills, fire pits and generators.

On the surface this seems like a well-intentioned effort to reduce air pollution, but I would like to know if there has been any real factual analysis as to what the actual cost to homeowners will be.

Electrical Upgrades Likely Necessary

If your house was built prior to about 1970, has natural gas water and space heating, and has the original circuit breaker panel, depending on the manufacturer and total amperage of your panel, you may have to replace the circuit breaker panel before you will be able to install an electric water heater or space heater.

Many circuit breaker panels from this period are now considered to be unsafe, they cannot be upgraded to a higher amperage, and the additional breakers that would be needed are no longer available.

We had a customer last year whose natural gas line from the street to the gas meter started to leak due to rust, and they made the decision to convert their home to all electric rather than to replace the gas line.

Their home is a single-level ranch-style home on a concrete slab, and the bill from the electrician was about $3,000, plus the cost of purchasing and installing new electric appliances, and about another $1,500 in stucco and drywall repair.

The electrician was able to run the new wiring through the attic and down inside the walls.  But a home that has cathedral ceilings or a flat roof without attic access and is on a slab, will likely have a substantially higher conversion cost.

This will also be the case with a ground-level condominium that has another unit above it on the second or third floor.

There are many very nice older apartment buildings throughout the Santa Barbara area that are two stories with as many as 12 units, one large tank-style gas water heater for the whole building, and with the individual apartments having gas kitchens and wall heaters.

It is hard for me to imagine what all will be required to convert this type of apartment building to all electric, how the work will be done without relocating the tenants for some period, and how the landlord will be able to absorb the costs without raising rents.

In some of these buildings there will be issues with asbestos and lead paint requiring remediation at additional expense.

Planning Ahead

Another wrench in the gears is the availability of electricians. In a previous column I had mentioned there is a national shortage of electricians, not due to people leaving the trade, but to an ever-increasing demand for electrical work of all types.

Out of curiosity I emailed the manager of the local Home Depot to inquire as to how many gas water heaters the store sells in a typical month but, unfortunately, did not receive a response.

My guess is that the total number of gas water heaters sold every month in Santa Barbara is a pretty big number and after Jan. 1, 2030, many households, especially those with lower incomes, will be without hot water for possibly an extended period while the owners try to line up an electrician, apply for a building permit and come up with the needed funding.

If your gas furnace or wall heater must be converted to electric, I believe your only option will be to install a heat pump system that, for the typical four-bedroom ranch-style home will cost about $15,000 plus the expense of any necessary electrical upgrades, which again can be substantial.

There are tax credits, not rebates, available to help with making these conversions but the bulk of the expense will be borne by homeowners and renters, further adding to our housing affordability crisis.

There will be many homeowners for whom this will be a very stressful situation that they may just not be able to deal with, and there will be many who won’t have the money to afford it.

For those homeowners and landlords who do have the resources to make this conversion, now is a good time to start planning.