New York’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas hookups has been included in the state budget, and it will prevent gas-fired heaters and appliances from being installed in new homes and businesses beginning in 2026 for buildings of seven stories or less. These buildings will instead use heat pumps, geothermal systems, and electric appliances, with some exceptions for gas use. The new rules are part of the state’s efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels and their planet-warming emissions, and fumes from buildings account for about 30% of the state’s greenhouse gases.
The ban won’t affect existing gas hookups, boilers, furnaces, and appliances, or the owner’s ability to replace those products when they break down. It will only apply to newly constructed homes and businesses. The state’s goal is to end fossil-fuel use by 2050, but critics claim the ban will increase household expenses and force too much dependence on electricity. Republican politicians have seized on the issue, framing it as a “gas stove ban” and using it to fundraise.
New gas connections will still be allowed for manufacturing facilities, commercial food establishments, laboratories, car washes, laundromats, hospitals, crematoriums, agricultural buildings, and critical infrastructure, as well as for generators that serve as backup power supplies. Supporters of the ban argue that it will have little practical impact on people’s daily lives, other than cleaner breathing for those with respiratory ailments worsened by methane fumes from gas stoves. They also contend that all-electric homes could cut utility costs, citing a report that concluded heating a single-family home in New York would cost $904 less per year on average if built with an air source heat pump instead of a furnace or boiler.
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