On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, the City Council adopted a groundbreaking local building code that requires all new buildings to be electric (with some minor exceptions for home cooking appliances and fireplaces, life science buildings and emergency operations centers). The new building code takes effect January 1, 2020. 

As the state and the community move toward renewable and clean electricity, the local building standard is securing a greenhouse gas-free future for new buildings. Addressing electrification now for new buildings avoids hardships and costs for building owners in the future. Menlo Park is one of the first cities in the state to highlight this progressive policy and many other cities are likely to follow suit. 

Electric buildings have been found to be cost effective over the life of the building, and to ensure continual annual savings, property owners and the building industry will need to transition their understanding of electric appliances and designing electric buildings. For example, heat pumps are 300-400 percent more efficient than traditional gas furnaces. Solar can also significantly drive down the cost of electricity and provide help provide grid resilience.

For more information, please visit Menlo Park’s Reach Code webpage. Subscribe to the Menlo Park Sustainability News Flash category on NotifyMe to keep informed about guides, training or demonstrations on designing electric buildings and/or using electric appliances. In fact, there is an upcoming demonstration on electric induction stoves.

Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove Showroom is hosting a panel discussion about the environmental and safety benefits of induction technology and an induction cooking demonstration. Please register through Eventbrite. 

Induction cooking demonstration and panel discussion
Thursday, October 3, 2019
5:45 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove Showroom by Riggs Distributing
1755 Rollins Road
Burlingame, CA 94010