The Bay Area Air District board voted on Wednesday to delay the start of the natural gas water heater ban to January 2028 and approved several exemptions. It rejected a last-minute motion to delay the vote, and also rejected another motion that would have sought a proposal to make the transition to cleaner appliances voluntary.
After several hours of public comment, the board decisively voted to amend the hotly contested natural gas water heater ban, which prevents the installation of new appliances that emit smog-forming nitrogen oxides and will cause many residents to buy cleaner but more expensive heat pump water heaters when their gas water heaters breaks. On average, a heat pump model is $3,500 more expensive than a natural gas version, according to the air district.
The ban had been set to go into effect January 2027, but the year’s delay will allow the air district to expand public outreach, coordinate with retailers and contractors, and figure out how exemptions – which could apply to about half of Bay Area households — will work…