If you’re building in Boulder, be prepared to build all-electric.
Passed unanimously by the Boulder City Council on June 6, Boulder’s new energy conservation code will take effect on Dec. 1, 2024. For the first time, it will require all new residential and commercial buildings in Boulder to be gas-free, with a few exceptions for commercial buildings, including those with commercial kitchens and laboratories.
City staff have presented the proposed plan to city council several times, most recently on May 16. The only significant change requested at that meeting was a delay in the effective date. City staff had previously recommended the new code take effect on July 1, 2024, concerned that allowing too much time would inundate the city with new permitting tasks as people rushed to lock in projects under the old energy code rules. But city councilmembers requested that it be pushed back to December to give the construction industry time to adjust and prevent in-process projects from having to make changes to comply with the new code.
Boulder’s all-electric requirements for new construction are a major development in Colorado, as only Crested Butte and Lafayette have enacted such bans as part of long-term plans to cut global warming emissions to zero by phasing out fossil fuel use. This means Boulder is the largest municipality in Colorado to take this step. However, the new energy code will not affect most Boulderites for some time.
Here are the key gas-related pieces of the new code:
No retrofits required:
- If you have a gas stove, furnace, or gas fireplace, you do not need to replace them.
- Even if your gas appliance breaks, you are allowed to replace it with another gas appliance.
- The impact will be felt by those building new homes, commercial buildings, or doing major remodels.
Major remodels:
- If a remodel involves renovating more than 50% of a building’s square footage, redoing mechanical systems like ductwork, and significantly affecting the building’s efficiency by replacing windows or reconfiguring insulation down to the studs, electric equipment must be installed as the primary source of space and water heating.
- Gas appliances would still be allowed for backup space and water heating as well as for smaller applications like cooking.
Less-intensive remodels:
- Remodels less intensive than those described can simply make the space ready for future electrification.
Additions:
- Additions of any size also fall under the all-electric requirement, meaning new appliances installed as part of an addition must be electric.
- The all-electric requirement for additions only applies to appliances. Existing ductwork from a gas furnace can be extended into the addition.
In many ways, new construction in Boulder was already moving toward electrification due to the 2020 energy code. Strict energy requirements for new homes larger than 3,000 square feet essentially mandated the use of electric appliances for heating and water heating to meet efficiency standards. According to city staff, nearly all new single-family homes in Boulder are larger than 3,000 square feet, meaning much of the new construction in the city has already adopted all-electric systems.
Gas stoves and fireplaces, however, were still allowed in all new residential construction, even in large homes. This year’s update eliminates that option.
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