Heat pumps will be required in new construction in WA state starting in 2023

Heat pumps will be required for space and water heating in all new home construction in Washington state starting next year.

The new rules take effect July 1, 2023, but their impact on the home construction industry and whether or not climate pollution will be reduced remain hotly debated topics among environmentalists, the homebuilding industry and policymakers.

Disagreements about proposed state building codes requiring heat pumps, how they can be powered, and how the rules would be enforced have been ongoing throughout much of 2022, and those debates continued until the last possible moment.

Heat pumps use a compressor, pumps and fans to move heat inside the home when it is cold and push it outside when it is warm. Under the code changes, they can be powered by electricity or natural gas.

In the end, a divided State Building Code Council voted 9-5 at its Nov. 4 meeting to approve a new Washington State Energy Code that requires heat pumps.

“From an economic, equity and sustainability perspective, it makes sense to build efficient, electric homes right from the start,” said Rachel Koller, managing director of the Shift Zero advocacy group.

“We also know that transitioning existing homes to be more efficient and fossil-fuel free is critical for our climate and our health,” Koller said. “Our Legislature can lead on this effort by investing in robust statewide programs that will help more households access the cost savings, health and safety benefits of efficiency, like electric heat pumps.”

Many in the housing industry believe the heat pump requirements will lead to fewer homes being built, higher costs for potential homeowners and an overwhelmed electric power grid in Washington.

“We’re deeply frustrated the State Building Code Council adopted this unnecessary and costly new mandate,” said Greg Lane, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington.

“The council’s own cost analysis said it didn’t make economic sense,” Lane said. “Yet this unelected council ignored it all and adopted the mandate anyway. It just shows how absolutely out of touch the SBCC is with the crisis happening right now in the housing market.”

Debating the heat pump requirement

The SBCC has 15 voting members appointed by the governor and five ex-officio members who are either state legislators or regulatory officials (see related story). Voting members represent different aspects of the building industry, from engineers and architects to workers and the general public. At least six SBCC members must live east of the Cascades.

Among the hundreds of recommended building rule changes, the requirement of heat pumps in the energy code attracted the vast majority of public comments. Thousands of responses, either written comments or those made at two public hearings, addressed the benefits and costs of the requirement.

A key aspect of the heat pump requirement is the impact on the amount of natural gas used in new residential construction.

Kjell Anderson, an architect and SBCC member from the Seattle area, chaired the residential energy code subcommittee that reviewed the heat pump proposals, and urged approval of the new rules.

“No one is taking away anyone’s ability to have gas as a backup heat source,” Anderson said during the Nov. 4 SBCC meeting. “Heat pumps are not a fringe technology. They are already being installed in the majority of Washington homes.”

He noted that more than 100 people testified in support of the code updates at the SBCC’s two public hearings, on Sept. 29 in Yakima and on Oct. 14 in Olympia, with more than 4,600 Washingtonians submitting written comments in support of heat pumps.

Other SBCC members disagreed, with ex officio State Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, proposing an amendment during Friday’s meeting to remove the heat pump requirement for space and water heating from list of proposed energy code changes.

Wilson said the Legislature did not authorize the SBCC to restrict natural gas use, which is the effect the heat pump rules would have on new residential construction.

“The state should not be putting limits on options Washington residents have for heating their homes,” she added. “The Legislature could have done that, but didn’t.”

Several SBCC members questioned the cost analysis of heat pumps, which they considered confusing, complex and incomplete.

Micah Chappell, a West Side building code enforcement official, said the added costs of heat pumps do not justify the efficiency gains they provide in new homes.

“I think it’s at least one code adoption cycle too soon,” Chappell said. “The cost-benefit analysis is simply not complete.”

SBCC member Corey Wilker, representing the construction building trades, agreed with Chappell.

“There’s no reason not to push this to the next code (modification) cycle, once we have better information,” Wilker said. “Without all the information, we’re just shoving this thing through.”

Eventually, Wilson’s amendment to remove the heat pump requirement failed by an 8-5 vote, with only Chappell, Daimon Doyle, Al French, Craig Holt and Wilker supporting it.

After nearly an hour debating Wilson’s amendment, a few other minor changes to the energy code were made and it was adopted by a 9-5 vote.

Caroline Traube, the SBCC’s mechanical engineer representative, said targeting less-efficient home heating systems like natural gas or fuel oil furnaces is one of the best steps the state can take to reach its clean energy goals.

“Much of the remaining opportunities for (energy efficiency) gains lie in space heating and water heating,” Traube said. “I think this is one of smallest steps we could take, and it still allows some flexibility.”

Impact of the decision

Anderson also stressed the flexibility issue, noting natural gas still can supplement the electricity that powers heat pumps, especially on the coldest days of the year.

Proponents and opponents of the energy code revision had differing views on whether natural gas would truly be an option.

Lane, with the BIAW home builders group, said requiring heat pumps would remove the incentive for natural gas companies to run gas lines into new homes, which also essentially eliminates the ability for homeowners to have natural gas ranges and fireplaces.

Builders surveyed by the BIAW estimated the new rules will increase the cost of a newly constructed home by at least $8,300. Adding natural gas heat as a backup power source, whether by choice or necessity, adds another $2,400 to home costs, the BIAW survey found.

“The Legislature rejected proposals to ban natural gas in new homes,” Lane said. “They recognized the need for all homeowners to have affordable choices when it comes to the mix of energy they use for space and water heating.

“This decision will drive up the cost of housing into the future with no tangible return … requiring heat pumps does nothing to reduce reliance on fossil fuels,” he added.

Lane said the BIAW and other building industry groups are reviewing all options to oppose the new SBCC rules, including possible litigation.

Meanwhile, environmental groups such as Shift Zero believe heat pumps will provide ultra-efficient heating as well as cooling — an increasingly important need during Washington’s recent hotter and smokier summers.

All-electric homes save Washingtonians an average of $1,000 per year over the lifetime of the HVAC equipment, Shift Zero noted in a news release, citing a Department of Commerce study.

Shift Zero’s Koller and the organization’s Senior Program Director, Rachele Hayward, added that support for heat pumps and the cleaner electric energy to run them exists beyond Washington.

Hayward noted that at least 90 jurisdictions in 11 states have adopted building electrification policies since 2019, and the federally approved Inflation Reduction Act is expected to provide the average family $10,600 in incentives to electrify homes and buildings.

The SBCC residential energy code changes follow similar action earlier this year on new commercial and multifamily buildings. Besides heat pumps, the new residential energy codes improve kitchen ventilation requirements.