San Francisco offers free electric hot water heaters, rebates to help phase out gas appliances

San Francisco is rolling out a program that provides free electric hot water heaters for low-income residents as part of the push in the Bay Area to phase out gas appliances. But convincing people to get on board is proving to take some work.

"So we are here to talk about home electrification," said LaTresha Tanner, an outreach worker with Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates. "Do you know what that is?" 

It's not the usual breezy banter you typically hear in a nail salon. Bayview nail stylist Phuong Vu responded only with a cocked eyebrow and an inquisitive look but listened on intently as Tanner continued her pitch, laying out the benefits of swapping out gas-powered appliances for their electric counterparts, like induction stoves, heat pumps and electric water heaters.

For months now, Tanner has been striking up conversations like this with Bayview residents, working to spread the word about a recently launched program that uses a state subsidy to provide electric water heaters.

The program is part of the city's broader effort to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2040. In addition, it's also intended to help prepare residents for fast-approaching new rules from Bay Area air quality regulators that will gradually phase out certain gas appliances, beginning with measures that will effectively ban the sale of new gas water heaters in 2027.

Tanner is putting in the leg work now to make sure residents aren't caught unprepared. But there's still a lot more work to be done: "The responses I'm getting, people don't know about it," she told KPIX.

Even for the outreach workers promoting this message, the learning curve on home electrification has been steep.

"Well when I first heard 'electrification,' I thought it was getting electrocuted," chuckled Anthony Alston, who has been working alongside Tanner on this outreach effort. "That's just natural for someone to think."

San Francisco's Environment Department recently hosted an open house event, which served as both the launch of the water heater program and an opportunity to introduce more residents to electric appliances. The event featured a demonstration of induction stovetop cooking and several informational tables, each staffed with industry professionals or health experts, who explained the health risks posed by the air pollution that gas appliances release into homes.

The event's strong turnout was a welcome sign for the city officials who put it together.

"I think it's fantastic," said climate program manager Cyndy Comerford. "I think a lot of people are very concerned about climate change and their health."

Still, even with the rebates the city is offering - which can add up to more than $10,000, covering both the purchase and the installation of hot water heaters - not everyone is convinced that it's time to say goodbye to their gas appliances.

"We have to see the value," said resident Juan Carlos Gonzalez after being stopped by Alston and told about the rebates. "We have to put it on the scale. We have to see if it's worth it."

Meanwhile, others who do want to electrify their homes make too much money to qualify for the city's rebate program, but still need the help. That's the case for Bayview homeowner Tiana Frazier, who says she'd like to see the income threshold for the program increased.

"The city is expensive," she said. "Any help that I can get or that anyone can get, I'm sure that they'd be appreciative of that."

City officials say their rebate program is just ramping up and that the goal is to identify more funding sources so that it can eventually cover more appliances and more residents.

But with so many people still left to reach - and those new air quality regulations just a few years away - for Tanner and Alston, their outreach work is already beginning to feel like a race against time.

"The future is here. It's coming fast," said Alston. "And when they don't know about it, they are going to be shocked."