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May 13, 2023

NY to ban gas appliances in new buildings, but you can replace a gas furnace in existing home

Syracuse resident Walter Putter stands near the electric-powered air-source heat

Syracuse resident Walter Putter stands near the electric-powered air-source heat pump at his house in a December 2022 file photo. New York is set to pass the first U.S. law mandating zero-emission equipment in new construction.

New York's transition to all-electric buildings will take a slower path than envisioned by the state Climate Action Council, because officials for now have dropped plans to prohibit the replacement of worn-out gas furnaces in existing structures.

The budget agreement announced Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul would require "zero-emission" appliances in new houses and buildings of seven stories or less, beginning in 2026. Taller buildings would fall under the rule in 2029.

That would effectively prohibit furnaces and stoves that burn natural gas or other fossil fuels, with limited exemptions for large commercial and industrial buildings.

But the budget deal does not include a second provision that was recommended by the state Climate Action Council and proposed by Hochul in January. That language would have prohibited the replacement of worn-out gas furnaces (but not stoves) in existing homes, beginning in 2030. By 2035, replacements would have been banned in all buildings, with a few exceptions.

Neither the Assembly nor the Senate included the replacement provision in their one-house bills, and it was dropped during budget negotiations, said Alex Beauchamp of Food and Water Watch, an environmental group tracking the legislation.

The ban on replacement furnaces would have accelerated the switch to all-electric heating systems. As it stands, the legislation will only restrict new construction.

Nevertheless, environmentalists are cheering the legislation. New York will become the first state to pass legislation mandating electric buildings. Washington state previously did so through building code regulations.

"Ultimately, we have to transition everything. But just getting new buildings is a huge victory,’’ Beauchamp said.

The Climate Action Council, which drew up roadmaps to implement a 2019 state law requiring massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, recommended the ban on gas-fired equipment in buildings as part of its final scoping plan in December. Hochul modeled her budget bill on the council's recommendation.

Thursday evening, Hochul announced that she and legislative leaders had reached a tentative agreement on the state budget, including the legislation mandating zero-emission new buildings.

Do you have a news tip or a story idea? Contact reporter Tim Knauss: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023.

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