New Heat Pump Permit Fee Waiver Program

Interested in adopting new, cleaner, efficient technology in your home? Goleta is making that easier for you by offering to waive permit fees for heat pump electrification projects.

The City of Goleta has launched a new pilot initiative to remove barriers for residents to adopt clean technologies in their homes. Through the Heat Pump Permit Fee Waiver program, people living in a single or multifamily residence who apply for permits to install an electric heat pump to replace a natural gas space or water heating unit can have the fees for those permits waived until pilot program funds are exhausted.

Electric heat pumps are highly efficient technology that operate differently from traditional water heaters and cooling/heating systems. Instead of burning fossil fuels in the home, such as gas to create heat that warms water, an electric heat pump draws in heat from the surrounding air and transfers it to the water. Likewise, a standard heater or furnace will burn fossil fuels to generate heat that warms space, and air conditioning units operate by moving heat from inside the building to outside with both systems performing just their one function: heating or cooling. But an electric heat pump can both heat and cool, by moving heat from inside the home to outside in the summer and drawing heat in from outside during winter.

Thanks to these clean technological advances, electric heat pumps provide several benefits for households. Their process for performing heating and cooling means they consume energy much more efficiently than traditional gas-powered equipment, helping homeowners save money on energy costs through different parts of the year. Heat pumps are also safer to operate than gas appliances, removing the risk of flammable gas leaks and fumes in the home. On top of that, eliminating fossil fuels from home heating can significantly improve the quality of indoor air, and in turn has been shown to reduce the risk of health issues such as asthma, particularly for children.

Installing heat pumps can require getting two different city permits: plumbing and electricity. The permits for a typical small residential project are about $225. Goleta’s heat pump permit fee waiver program will waive those permit fees for qualifying heat pump projects, and is designed to be utilized with other financial incentives and rebates available from utilities, state, and regional government programs to reduce the cost of converting household gas appliances to electric heat pumps.

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), the city’s community choice energy provider, offers Electrify Your Home program rebates of $1,000 for heat pump water heaters and $2,000 for heat pump HVAC systems, with a further $1,000 available for those who are income qualified. 3CE further offers up to $1,000 towards preliminary work updating electrical panels or wiring if upgrades are needed. If you have a wood-burning fireplace or stove, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District’s (SB APCD) Heat Clean Program offers a voucher from $5,000-$12,000 to replace it with an electric heat pump (amount based on low-income home or community). California also provides home electrification and appliance rebates through its HEEHRA program: up to $8,000 for single-family household heat pump HVAC system and $14,000 for multifamily homes installing heat pumps for space or water heating. (The SB APCD and HEEHRA programs are currently fully reserved and are accepting applications to include on a waitlist—check for details and instructions on their websites.)

California is taking action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and curbing the burning of fossil fuels in buildings is an essential part of that mission. In Goleta, as much as 40% of the community’s GHG emissions come from using gas to heat buildings. The City is committed to reducing financial barriers to electrifying homes and helping Goletans get ahead of the curve to take advantage of the benefits of electrification. Residents and contractors can apply for permits via the City’s online permitting portal at https://goleta.onlinegovt.com/.