Are California’s Condominium Associations in Hot Water?


Mark Lundell, Reconstruction Experts, Inc. and Alana Walker, Reconstruction Experts, Inc.


Under the direction and authority of the California Legislature, the California Air Resources Board (CARB)


is tasked with


developing and adopting the specifi c rules and regulations needed to achieve healthful air quality. The 2022 State Implementation Plan (SIP) published by the CARB last September outlines proposed measures to reduce natural gas emissions that negatively affect air quality. Part of this plan establishes restrictions on natural gas usage for commercial and residential buildings – yes, the very buildings we live in and work in.


If this measure is enacted into law in 2025 as


proposed, Californians may fi nd themselves asking: “Got Hot Water?”— “Got Heat?”


CARB has announced that it will require all new electrical appliances sold in the state to produce zero emissions by 2030. This new requirement is one of the steps being implemented to achieve the state’s ambitious goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Although CARB estimates that residential electricity consumption in California accounts for around 13 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions, nearly 90 percent of that natural gas demand is for space and water heating. This means all new space and water heaters (for either new construction or replacement of burned-out equipment in existing buildings) sold in California would need to meet the zero-emission standard by Jan. 1, 2030. This requirement is expected to extend to include other appliances such as clothes dryers, ovens, ranges, and cooktops. Now may be a good time to invest in an electric appliance company!


Although CARB claims that these measures will be developed with careful consideration for community needs and housing cost concerns and with full community engagement, it is unclear whether the implications of such regulation have been properly evaluated. A couple of questions to consider:


1. If these electric appliances reduce 90% of the natural gas demand to our buildings, will service providers still be able


32 November | December 2023


to cost-effectively deliver natural gas to our buildings for remaining appliances despite drastically reduced demand?


2. If hot water and space heaters all change over from gas to electric, can our existing building infrastructure support the increased electrical demand?


Let’s dive into that last question in a little more detail and consider different building types and how this regulation may affect some of our typical multi-family developments. We won’t dwell on the impact to single-family homes since the existing infrastructure for each home should support the additional electrical demand. If not,


individual homeowners, and not associations, would be responsible for any upgrades.


Condominiums vary by size and architectural style, such as towers, city-block--sized buildings, and townhouses. Electrical supply to multi-family structures is usually delivered by the utility company to a central location or clusters of locations. From there, it is metered and distributed via branch lines to individual condo units. The method of power distribution in each structure can vary from simple common runs through attic spaces to a system of carefully positioned chases within the structure or soffi ts in garages to get power to the electrical panel inside each unit or garage depending on building type.


Prior to original construction, electrical engineers calculate the expected electrical loads of all fi xtures and appliances in a building, ensure the supply is greater than the anticipated demand, and that, at minimum, Code requirements are being met. What happens when the rules change in the middle of the game, such as when the Code changes or when electrical demand changes due to new appliance and fi xture requirements? With the rise in popularity of electric vehicles, we have become painfully aware that the electrical supply to our older buildings is, in many cases, not suffi cient to add EV charging ports.


Whether adding electrical supply to existing multifamily buildings for EV charging or for new electric water and space


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