By Jeff Kann | Houseworks Inc.
Starting July 1, 2026, certain home renovations in San Francisco will trigger a new mandate requiring all-electric systems. The systems that heat your home, heat your water, cook your food, and dry your clothes will all have to run on electricity instead of natural gas. It is part of a new law called the All-Electric Major Renovations Ordinance. Here is what it means in plain language.
The ordinance explained
Since 2021, any brand-new building in San Francisco has had to be all-electric, no gas hookups at all. This new ordinance extends that same idea to existing homes, but only when a home goes through a renovation big enough to count as “major.” If your renovation qualifies, you cannot install a new gas furnace, water heater, stove, or dryer as part of that project. Everything has to be the electric version instead. It does not mean every home needs to rip out its gas line this year. It only applies the moment a home undergoes a renovation large enough to meet the definition below.
Who it affects
The ordinance kicks in when a project meets both of these conditions: replacing the home’s core systems, such as the furnace or water heater, and substantial work to the building itself, such as reworking walls across most of the house, changing the structure, or adding significant new space.
So a kitchen refresh, a single bathroom, or simply swapping a broken water heater will not trigger it. A true whole-home renovation, gutting most of the house and touching its structure, will most likely meet both conditions.
The gray area sits in between: a sizable renovation that touches some systems and some structure, but maybe not quite enough of either to clearly meet both parts. That is exactly the kind of project worth sorting out carefully, since the difference between just under the line and just over it can change your entire plan.
Why do this
San Francisco’s stated goal is cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and gas-burning equipment inside buildings is one of the larger remaining sources of those emissions in the city. The thinking is that a renovation, when the walls are already open and the old equipment is already being replaced, is the easiest and least disruptive time to make the switch.
Benefits and issues
Gas appliances burn fuel indoors, and the Environmental Protection Agency has linked that combustion to indoor air quality concerns, particularly around gas stoves. Electric systems do not have that byproduct, which is a real benefit. On the cost side, the city’s own analysis found that going all-electric during a major renovation can actually be cheaper than a mixed-fuel project, and officials expect gas rates to keep rising faster than electricity rates over time.
The downside shows up in a home’s electrical capacity. Many older San Francisco homes were wired well before anyone ran a heat pump, an electric water heater, an induction range, and a car charger all at once, so going all-electric can sometimes mean upgrading the electrical panel. In practical terms, that can mean a new panel, sometimes new wiring to support it, and occasionally an upgraded connection from the street, which adds real cost and time to a project.
Where Houseworks comes in
Houseworks has specialized in remodeling San Francisco’s housing stock since 2005, and we are very familiar with San Francisco’s building codes and how they shape the homes we work in. In addition, our design-build approach serves homeowners well: the electrical and structural realities are part of a conversation that begins early in the design phase alongside our construction team, with logistics and costs transparent early in the process, so budgeting stays accurate from the start, with less chance of change orders or project abandonment down the road.
If you’re early in planning, here’s our take on getting a design-build project started the right way.
Schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s talk about a project you’re considering, including some of the nuances of San Francisco’s codes, like this one, that can shape it.