Stanford University professor Mark Z. Jacobson tells the story of how the fire-blackened districts of Los Angeles are now saving money on their energy bills and reconstruction costs because they must only rebuild all-electric buildings.
“There’s no requirement that you need power and fossil gas in the building in the first instance. There’s nothing that’s better that gas does that isn’t already done better, or at least adequately enough, by electricity,”
he says.
I was honored, through a non-profit organization, Empowered by Light, and a retired fire captain, Richard Birt, on January 18, 2025, to be in a position that enabled the delivery of portable solar-battery systems to firefighters in the vicinity of the Malibu area. The firefighters appreciated the delivery greatly, as their only power source was their fire vehicle. Taking too much power from the vehicle for the power of chain-saw batteries and communications would leave the vehicle unable to move. Furthermore, the vehicle cannot be removed from the road in the close proximity of the fire line, but the solar-battery system can.
Mile after mile along the beautiful Pacific Shore Highway, mile after mile of burned-out structure after burned-out structure was heartbreaking. Forced-out families. History that could not be recovered. Memories that could not be regained. In the ash, however, is the opportunity of doing what should always be done all along America and all around the world. That is, all new buildings and structures should be designed and built with only power and not fossil gas, while the January 13 Executive Order of the City of Los Angeles’s Mayor Karen Bass gave residents the option of rebuilding homes “as they were” with fossil gas.
Dodging gas removes the likelihood of a rupture of the gas pipe exploding, such as in San Bruno, California, in 2010, when 8 people died, 58 people got hurt, and 38 houses burned down. Not burning gas underground also makes the employment of underground electrical wires possible. Subterranean electrical wires are necessary to reduce the likelihood of sparks, such as the ones that likely caused the Eaton fire. Not burning gas also removes people’s homes for the use of the carcinogen substance benzene and other health-affected air toxics, and death from carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly suited appliances burning gas. It also diminishes the necessity for the use of the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, as seen in 2015-2016 when the facility leaked for 112 days, releasing 97,000 metric tons of methane, along with other gases, into the environment. Additionally, reducing gas consumption diminishes the need for the approximately 50,000 new oil and gas wells that are drilled annually in Central North America.
With all-electric new construction, you eliminate the need for gas in structures, saving both initial and ongoing costs. You do not have to have both fossil gas and power in a structure at the same time. Nothing is done better with gas that isn’t done better with power. Contractors are in favor of people having power and gas, since contractors will be compensated more for the additional work and equipment required with gas. The costs of installing gas encompass the gas hookup fee, trenching for the gas conduits, the conduits themselves, gas appliances, a gas meter, and a carbon monoxide detector. Building owners of all-electric structures do not need to have gas. All they require are electrically powered structures and appliances. But the most common household power appliances use significantly less power than equivalent gas appliances. Take, for example, an electric heating pump used for space and water heating, air conditioning, and drying clothes, which consumes 67% to 80% less power than a gas heating unit for these purposes. An induction stove uses 62% less power than a gas stove.
Building owners could also avoid even larger costs by implementing rooftop solar and battery or power efficiency upgrades in their buildings. There are at least 11 reasons why rooftop solar is saving us all money. Among them, they lower the consumption of costly California grid power, lower the risk of wildfire through the reduced use of electrical wires, use less of the ground, and lower pollution through grid electrical power. Rooftop solar also supplies power in the event of a grid power loss. It also has cool buildings in the summer through the transformation of solar rays into power. It eliminates the need for costly roofing materials, and it provides an independent source of grid power. Batteries also convert excess daylight solar power into evening power, thereby avoiding the payment by homeowners of costly evening rates. Efficiency upgrades (sealing of doors and windows, use of LED bulbs and power-conscious devices) lower the need for the use of any power.
By undertaking these activities, the fossil fuel bills, including the electricity bill and the gasoline bill, for the building occupier are eliminated. Including the subsidy, a solar and battery system pays for itself every five years through the initial cost savings and the energy cost savings. Without a subsidy, the payback period is about nine years, but solar energy is worth it in 25 years.
LA will also be able to do the same through construction of all-electric residences only – lower first costs through the prevention of the inefficient storing of fossil gas; lower consumers’ bills for fossil gas and power in new buildings and vehicle fuel; lower spark fire hazard of transmission-line and likelihood of breaks in gas pipeline; and lower health, environment, and climatic harm through fossil gas.
