These Bay Area Renters Are Cutting Fossil Fuels From Their Homes and Commutes

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Writer Laura Fraser was interested in climate change but felt a sense of powerlessness.

“In the face of this enormous existential problem, what does recycling and riding a bicycle amount to?” Fraser said, sitting in her San Francisco apartment. “It just felt like nothing, just a drop in the ocean.”

Then, a few years ago, she was hired to edit a book called Electrify, by Saul Griffith. Working through it, she changed her perspective.

The book points out that 42% of energy-related emissions in the U.S. come from our homes and the vehicles we drive. Its core argument is that swapping polluting appliances and cars for electric versions can meaningfully and quickly bring down emissions.

“People don’t understand how much power they have in the climate crisis to cut down on the amount of carbon that they as individuals are creating with their cars, their stoves, their heaters,” Fraser said.

But Fraser and her husband, Peter Eckart, faced an obstacle: they are renters.

Renters comprise 46% of Bay Area households, according to the 2020 Census. For homeowners, changing out gas water heaters, HVAC systems, stoves and cars is doable, albeit expensive. Owners have the decision power to rewire homes and upgrade electric panels, while renters cannot make such large and permanent changes.

Recent innovations, however, are giving renters the power to substantially cut the pollution from their day-to-day routines.

After learning more about what’s called “electrification,” Fraser and her husband Peter Eckart looked around their Haight-Ashbury apartment, where Fraser’s lived for more than 40 years, with fresh eyes.

They guessed the heating unit in front of the old living room fireplace was from the 1960s, and leaked gas, a hazard to both health and the environment.

Fraser tested this by turning off the gas, disconnecting the pipe from the appliance and placing a balloon tightly around it. The balloon inflated, confirming their suspicions.

Their six-burner Wolf gas stove emitted gas when it was off, too.

First, the couple swapped out their heating and cooling. They installed a portable heat pump in a window, which plugged right into the wall.

The unit was free as Fraser and Eckart were beta testers. They also put a $200 “hot carpet” — basically an electric blanket — beneath a living room rug to create radiant heating.

For cooking, the couple splurged and installed a high-end induction stove for around $7,000. It plugs into a standard wall outlet. Fraser and Eckart chose this stove over a portable induction cooktop because they never plan to move out.

To get around town, Fraser and Eckart take public transit and ride e-bikes. “We’ve had them for about five years and love them,” Fraser said. “I always say the best car for San Francisco is an e-bike.”

For longer trips, the couple hops into Fraser’s gas-powered 2005 Mini-Cooper, which sports a bumper sticker that reads, “This is my last gas car.” They’re not sure how they’ll charge an electric vehicle, as there is no outlet in the garage they rent across the street from their apartment, but that’s a challenge they’ll take on in time.

“Collectively, if we can make the switch to electricity, we will address the climate problem,” Fraser said. “That feels very empowering to me.”

Everything but the water heater

Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg live in a two-bedroom Mission apartment with their 5- and 1-year-old children.

They switched nearly all of their gas-powered appliances to electric ones, except the water heater, which would require a substantial modification to the apartment.

They are both motivated by climate change and work in clean energy and technology. But said they made these changes after reading about the harmful health effects from burning gas indoors, particularly for kids.

Before switching appliances, they bought a $300 air quality monitor, which showed a spike in fine particulate matter and carbon dioxide when they used their gas wall furnace and stove.

Like Fraser and Eckart, they now use a window heat pump. But instead of replacing their gas stove, they’ve simply placed a $170, two-burner induction cooktop on its surface. They bake and roast food with a $130 small electric toaster oven.

While many clothes dryers are powered by gas, theirs is nonexistent: They line dry.

“It took a little bit of getting used to,” van Schaardenburg said. They check the weather before hanging their wash. Their previous apartment had no washer and dryer at all, so “this actually just felt like an upgrade,” she said.

The couple has one e-bike and one Prius, which they use for kid drop-offs, grocery runs or other outings. They detach and charge their e-bike battery in their apartment.

While most California apartments have 40-100 amps of power available, Wexler and van Schaardenburg made all these changes on just 35 amps and two electrical circuits. Their setup works well, but with one limit: no microwaving while the induction burners are on high or a fuse blows.

The couple also spent $1,500 to add customized, removable plexiglass to the front windows. The double panes block street noise and drafts from blowing in their 1899 Victorian apartment.

Although electricity is more expensive than gas in California, the couple spends slightly less on monthly utilities because they have been able to retire the inefficient space heaters they used to supplement their gas heating. They feel their investments have increased their comfort and keep their indoor air clean.

Plus, “everything that we have changed is completely reversible,” Wexler said. “When we move out, the apartment will be just as it was when we moved in.”