Building Electrification

Switch your appliances—such as furnaces, water heaters, stoves, and clothes dryers—from gas to electric to improve your home's health and safety and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Building electrification involves replacing gas appliances with clean, safe, and highly efficient all-electric alternatives, improving indoor and outdoor air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing grid resiliency.

The Bay Area Air District has adopted clean building appliance rules that apply when a water heater is purchased or replaced. Starting in 2028, no new gas water heaters can be sold or installed in Bay Area homes. Learn more about the Air District Clean Building Appliance Rules.

The City of Berkeley supports electrification by prohibiting new gas equipment in City-owned buildings and has helped income-qualified households switch to electric appliances through its Just Transition and Climate Equity Fund pilot programs.

Equitable Electrification Programs

The Just Transition Residential Electrification Pilot provided income-qualified residents with home electrification and resilience upgrades through a direct-install program. The pilot also included high-road labor standards to grow the residential decarbonization workforce and ensure workers benefit economically from electrification construction projects. The City partnered with Rebuilding Together East Bay Network on this two-year program that ended in July 2026. To learn more about the Just Transition Pilot, review the program documents below:

The Climate Equity Fund promotes building and transportation electrification for income-qualified residents and elevates community voices through three program areas:

The Home Electrification Retrofits Program provided electrification upgrades for multifamily and single-family homes. To learn more, read the final report.
The Berkeley E-Bike Equity Program increased e-bike access and provided youth workforce training. To learn more, read the final report.
The Climate Equity Collaborative facilitated a partnership of community-based organizations that co-created climate and community engagement best practices and distributed resilience resources to income-qualified residents. To learn more, read the final report.

Learn about the City of Berkeley’s vision for equitable building electrification in the Existing Buildings Electrification Strategy.

RESOURCES to help you Switch to electric appliances

Connect with a local Rewiring America certified volunteer Electric Coach to create a free, customized plan for your home.
Get the facts on the Bay Area Air District Clean Building Appliance Rules.
Find consumer resources, incentives, and free technical support for your home, business, or multifamily building at Financing Green Building Improvements.
Learn about home electrification at the Switch is On. The Switch is On hosts a contractor database, a comprehensive incentive finder, and resources for renters.
Visit Rewiring America for additional resources for renters and learn how to electrify your home without upgrading your electric panel.
Borrow a portable induction hob at the Ecology Center through Acterra's East Bay Induction Lending Program and discover the joys of induction cooking.