San Francisco contractors learning new skills as city moves toward net-zero emissions
The San Francisco Environment Department is trying to incentivize homeowners to make the switch, even offering free installs for qualifying residents. But the transition also requires manpower, and that requires contractors to learn new skills.
"With anything, there is a little learning curve," Randy Williamson said.
Williamson recently attended one of the city's trainings and seminars to help get contractors up to speed on the newer, greener appliances.
The latest one was fully booked with around 80 people in attendance. Environment Director Tyrone Jue said interest continues to grow.
"The future is coming. We're going electric. We need all of our contractors ready for this amazing amount of work that is going to happen during this transition," Jue said.
San Francisco is 48% of the way towards its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040, per Jue. Almost half of the city's emissions come from buildings utilizing gas appliances.
Jue said phasing in heat pump water heaters will help make a difference in the big picture and for individual consumers.
"You get the safety, the reliability, the health impacts, and the economic impacts. This is what we want to educate everyone about – from the public to our contractors to our own city leadership," Jue said. "We have to make this more accessible to people, in terms of incentives. We need to grow these incentive pots to encourage more electrification. And, we also need to make sure that we reach out to communities that may not have the resources to do it. So, we want to make sure we're looking at this from an equity standpoint and also just a general transition standpoint."
Williamson has installed seven so far and has three more on the books in the near future.
"There are definitely not enough installers. That would be a great boost to help get this done," he said.
He said there is a unique opportunity right now for a new avenue of work that's worth exploring, from both a business and a personal standpoint.
"It's good for the community, good for the environment, good for the consumer, and good for the planet," he said.
Eligibility requirements remain the same for the free heat pump water heater program, and residents can sign up at climateequitysf.org.
- Live in a single family home or a building with 4 units or less
- Household earns 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less (e.g. a 4-person household that makes less than $119,900 per year)
- Proof of income is not required if you can provide documents proving participation in public assistance programs such as Medi-Cal, SNAP, or CalWorks
- Currently use a gas water heater that is more than eight years old.