By Marcelle Dibrell
The California Pool and Spa Association is fighting several measures the state’s agencies and legislators have introduced banning the use of gas-fired appliances, including pool and spa heaters, fire pits, fireplaces, and barbeques.
On June 23, the CPSA submitted written comments with the California Air Resources Board regarding its proposal to ban the sale of non-zeroemission space and water heaters, a proposal that is currently in its workshop phase of proceedings.
As part of its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the board is drafting new regulations that will begin phasing out space and water heaters in California as early as 2027. Specific to the pool and spa industry, sales of gas-fired pool heaters would end in 2031.
This proceeding comes on the heels of new regulations that were announced on June 7 by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to ban the sale of natural gas heaters in its four-county area, including most of Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, for new construction by January 1, 2028, and for replacements by January 1, 2031.
In both cases, the CPSA stated that the state agencies failed to reach out and consider the objections of relevant interested parties such as the pool and spa industry, as well as restaurants and dry cleaners.
“This is the exact same thing that occurred with the South Coast Air Quality Management District board,” said John Norwood, CPSA’s lobbyist. “State agencies that develop such regulations have an obligation to identify and conduct outreach to key stakeholder groups. In addition, an agency must consider the effects of such regulations on small businesses, possible adverse effects on employment in an identified industry, and must consider alternative proposals that would lessen the economic impact or adverse effects on small businesses and employment in affected industries. Thus far in the process of these workshops, those obligations have not been met relative to the swimming pool, spa, and hot tub industry in California.”
In its comments, the CPSA pointed out that while heat pump water heaters may be practical in some residential and commercial applications, they are currently not practical or efficient for heating water in commercial pools or residential swimming pools where an inground spa and pool are combined. The largest heat pump water heater is about one-third of the size of a natural gas water heater used in a typical residential inground swimming pool. In these applications, the use of the heater is more about its ability to heat the water in the spa in a timely manner to meet consumer expectations, than to heat the pool itself.
According to the CPSA, a typical 400,000-Btu pool heater can bring spa water to temperature in about an hour or less in most any climates, depending on size of the spa and air temperature. The industry builds heaters as high as 95-percent efficient. The largest heat pump water heater would require between 4 to 6 hours of run time to obtain a typical temperature of 102 degrees and, depending on air temperature, might never attain that goal or be able to maintain that temperature for consumer use. A heat pump water heater is efficient for its size at 80 degrees air temperature but loses 10 percent of its efficiency for every 10-degree drop in air temperature. In order to be efficient, heat pump water heaters require high humidity and ambient temperatures to operate at peak efficiency.
Meanwhile, for commercial applications, such as typical school swimming pools, numerous heat pump water heaters would need to run almost continuously to meet and maintain the required water temperatures. In addition, heat pump water heaters are significantly larger than a typical natural gas heater and would likely require expensive building modifications to accommodate. Expensive electrical service issues must also be considered, given a heat pump water heater typically requires a 50-amp circuit breaker, which alone, and in combination with indoor heaters and EV charging requirements, would overrun the electrical service provided to many homes and commercial businesses today.
CPSA also pointed out that the California Building Industry Association has indicated that their members are currently restrained from building housing in the state due to the inability to connect to the electrical grid and grid capacity issues. Heat pump water heaters for swimming pool and spa applications can only exacerbate this problem because such heaters will have to operate many hours more at a much higher cost to the homeowner, business owner, and public entity to accomplish the same task. The recent rule enacted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District would add more than 1 million heaters to the state’s grid in just a four-county area. A similar state rule would add many times that number to an electrical grid that is not capable today of handling that capacity.
But the hits to gas-fired appliances keep coming, as Senate Bill 1221 — a bill that would eliminate the oldest gas pipelines in California, one neighborhood at a time — works its way through the state legislature. On July 1, the assembly passed the bill and referred it to the Committee on Appropriations, marking its progress at the 50-percent point.
The stated goal of SB 1221 is to stop spending money operating, maintaining, repairing, and replacing aging pipelines that deliver fossil fuel, which is also incompatible with the state’s long-term climate goals.
The CPSA opposes SB 1221 because it says the technology to replace gas heaters with electric alternatives is not yet sufficiently advanced.
According to the CPSA, three to four heat pumps would be required to match the heating speed of a single gas-fired heater. The law would also spell the end of existing fire pits, fireplaces, fire features, and barbeques, all important elements of the backyard lifestyle upon which the pool and spa industry depends.
Until electric heating technology can meet the performance standards of gas heating, the CPSA argues, such a transition would be premature and potentially detrimental to homeowners and businesses that depend on effective and efficient heating solutions.
They advocate for maintaining the option of gas heating until more efficient and reliable electric alternatives are available.
