How an Air Agency Is Going to Zero for Homes

The agency responsible for cleaning the air in the nation’s smog capital is launching a program to spark the use of zero-emissions appliances in homes. The program is called Go Zero, and it’s the start of something big in Southern California.

Earthjustice and our partners have been pumped about heat pumps as a better option than burning fossil fuels to heat homes for a while now. You can read about heat pumps in our web feature: Make Your Home Cleaner and Comfier with a Heat Pump. The shift is important for air quality as the millions of fossil fuel-burning appliances in places like Los Angeles contribute to our notorious smog woes. Plus, this pollution fouls the air inside our homes and is responsible for a significant chunk of our climate pollution problems.

The Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District unanimously approved this pilot program, recognizing the dangers of burning methane in homes. Appliance pollution is the largest remaining category of emissions under the South Coast Air District’s jurisdiction. And that make sense because Southern California is home to the largest methane utility in the country: SoCalGas, which has spent decades pushing methane-burning appliances on consumers.

The Go Zero program launches September 3 this year, and the program will provide rebates for single family homes, apartment buildings, and small businesses that seek to kick fossil fuel appliances to the curb in exchange for zero-emissions appliances. The timing couldn’t be better, seeing that a heatwave is about to hit the region. Heat pumps are a great way to bring air conditioning into homes that don’t already have it (because they can pump heat either into and out of homes to set a comfortable temperature).

Heat pumps can warm and cool our spaces, heat our water, and dry clothes. (Lily Padula for Earthjustice)

Filling the Void of Federal Incentives

With Go Zero, single family homes can receive a rebate for up to $3,000, multifamily complexes can receive a rebate of up to $300,000 depending on their size, and small businesses can receive a rebate for up to $4,000 — notably higher than the federal tax credits recently gutted by the Trump administration. Homeowners can also stack these incentives with incentives from other programs. To learn more about how to apply, see the Go Zero homepage.

Heat pumps are a key part of rebuilding LA after the devastating wildfires in January. Rebuilding with modern electric appliances is becoming a popular trend for LA homeowners taking on the gargantuan task of erecting a new home in the ashes of their lost homes. (This tracks with national trends, which have seen heat pumps outsell gas furnaces in the U.S. for the third year in a row.) Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) also launched a program called HOME LA with incentives for homeowners to rebuild with electric appliances.

And without gas appliances, you likely don’t need a gas line — a liability that became clear for LA homeowners when open gas lines flared for hours after fires swept through neighborhoods in January.

A neighbor uses a wrench stuck into a pipe to turn off a burning gas line at the Eaton Fire on January 8, 2025, in Altadena, California. (David McNew / Getty Images)

In the big picture, the transition away from fossil fuel-burning in homes to zero-emissions appliances will not be easy. We have already seen SoCalGas and other interests throw down immense sums of resources to fight shifting to zero-emission standards — like when SoCalGas was caught charging customers $36 million for the utility’s lobbying campaign against clean air measures.

But, Southern California’s investment of $21 million to launch the Go Zero program is a good start to help get heat pumps in Southern Californians’ homes. I look forward to advocating for more funds to make this a permanent fixture of the South Coast Air Basin’s air quality work.