California moves to cut red tape for heat pumps, solar, and more

Californians could soon find it easier and cheaper to install rooftop solar, home batteries, and energy-saving heat pumps and heat-pump water heaters.

Late last month, the state Legislature passed two first-in-the-nation bills that would streamline permitting and inspections for these clean energy home projects. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bills, the Heat Pump Access Act (Senate Bill 222) and the Remote Virtual Inspection Act (Assembly Bill 1738).

Newsom’s office declined to say which way he’s leaning. If enacted, the bills could save households hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000 in fees per environmentally friendly upgrade, according to independent analyses. The technologies all tend to reduce monthly utility bills, too.

Those savings would go a long way right now, as Californians deal with some of the highest energy costs in the nation and the federal government has clawed back support for such upgrades. President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress eliminated federal tax credits for home solar, batteries, heat pumps, and heat-pump water heaters last year.

“This is something that touches families’ pocketbooks directly,” said Nick Josefowitz, founder and chief executive of energy-affordability nonprofit Permit Power. ​“We’re just thrilled that the legislature in California acknowledged how important that is.”

The pieces of legislation could also nudge California closer to its climate targets. By 2030, the state has pledged to reduce planet-heating emissions by 40% from 1990 levels and to deploy 6 million carbon-slashing heat pumps.

Here’s what each bill would deliver.

Heat Pump Access Act (SB 222)

Californians who want to install a heat pump or a heat-pump water heater need permits from their city or county before a contractor can legally do that work.

But ​“inconsistent and onerous” permitting regulations inflate project costs. The policy nonprofit San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) found that some jurisdictions require three permits — plumbing, electrical, and structural — for a heat-pump water heater, which can result in $400 in unnecessary fees.

If it becomes law, the Heat Pump Access Act would replace a patchwork of requirements across roughly 600 jurisdictions with a simpler statewide standard.

The bill requires cities of at least 5,000 and counties of at least 150,000 to offer expedited or instant permitting for heat pump projects by July 1, 2028. It also limits jurisdictions to one permit per project; caps permit fees at $150 for a heat-pump water heater and $200 for a heat pump, excepting jurisdictions that show they have higher costs to recoup; and prohibits homeowners associations from imposing their own restrictive rules or outright bans. One HOA delayed a retiree’s heat pump by seven months, causing her to miss out on almost $6,500 in incentives.

SB 222 ​“is going to make it so much easier for people to install heat pumps,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), who authored the bill. Speeding up that process, which would make air conditioning more accessible, ​“is how we protect California families from extreme heat and rising energy costs.”

Remote Virtual Inspections Act (AB 1738)

Cities and counties inspect permitted home upgrades to make sure they’re up to code. But doing these routine checks in person takes time and money.

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning contractors often find themselves waiting for two to six hours for an inspection that itself takes just five to 15 minutes, according to SPUR. The nonprofit estimates that this inefficiency, along with the inspector’s travel time and coordination work, adds $600 to $1,000 to the cost of a single heat-pump, solar, or battery project — an expense passed on to customers.

AB 1738 aims to streamline the inspection process for these and other select projects by giving homeowners the right to request an established time-saving approach: remote virtual inspections. Because they can be done with a video call on a smartphone, the scheduling is much tighter and more flexible.

For example, a plumber might install a water heater in the morning and book an inspection for that afternoon, said Timothy Wegner, who led the Placer County, California, building department, where he spearheaded its adoption of remote inspections, before retiring earlier this year. At least 19 jurisdictions in California already offer a remote option, including Berkeley, Los Angeles County, and San Diego.

The bill requires cities of more than 50,000 people and counties of at least 150,000 to offer virtual inspections by Jan. 1, 2028. However, it lets authorities require an in-person meeting when necessary. If enacted, the legislation would save Californians more than $500 million in three years based on current permit data, according to SPUR.

“A thousand bad rules and process bottlenecks that nobody ever bothered to fix caused California’s affordability crisis,” Brian Hanlon, CEO of pro-housing nonprofit California YIMBY, said in a statement. ​“AB 1738 fixes one of them by allowing remote inspections. That’s how you make California affordable again — fixing one dumb bottleneck at a time.”

Will other states follow?

California has long been a clean energy trailblazer. In 2022, the Golden State became the first in the U.S. to require most cities and counties to automate permitting for rooftop solar. Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia have followed suit with laws streamlining home solar and storage permitting. And Maryland has also adopted one encouraging, though not requiring, jurisdictions to offer remote inspections for such projects.

“All these states are looking at each other,” Josefowitz said. Once one goes first, ​“it unleashes a torrent of interest.”