As winter presses on, residents across New Jersey will crank up the thermostat and spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. And yet, many may not realize our homes have a serious and invisible pollution problem.
Even though indoor air quality can be two to five times worse than outdoor air quality, the air in our homes remains largely unregulated. According to an American Lung Association Report, exposures to long-term hazardous indoor air pollution can increase the risk of illness and lead to premature death. One of the primary contributors to this poor indoor air quality is the combustion process, during which fossil fuels are burned to cook food and heat our homes.
Household gas furnaces can leak dangerous pollutants such as low levels of carbon monoxide that are undetectable by standard alarms but still above the World Health Organization’s recommended exposure limit. The leaks can cause heart failure, stroke and cognitive impairment over time; symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as other common diseases. Over the past three years, nearly 100 New Jersey residents have been hospitalized because of carbon monoxide poisoning, colloquially known as the “silent killer,” because of its invisible, odorless and colorless nature.
At the same time, fossil fuel heating systems vent unhealthy pollution outdoors, including nitrogen oxides, or NOx, a family of poisonous, highly reactive gases. Breathing NOx can irritate a person’s lungs, exacerbate respiratory conditions and trigger asthma attacks. In the presence of sunlight, NOx combines with volatile organic compounds to produce ozone, contributing to unhealthy outdoor air quality across New Jersey.
Whether outdoors or indoors, everyone deserves to breathe healthy air. Our homes — the places where we enjoy time with family, friends and loved ones, where we create lasting memories — should not be releasing harmful pollution that makes us sick. The good news is that New Jersey has the opportunity to move away from polluting fossil fuels and embrace cleaner alternatives.
To do so, New Jersey lawmakers must pass Senate Bill 249 (S.249) which will help yield safer homes, free from carbon monoxide pollution, and healthier outdoor air by helping more New Jerseyans install highly efficient, electric heat pumps. Heat pumps offer pollutant-free, affordable and energy efficient heating and cooling year-round for New Jersey residents.
S.249 and its companion bill A.4844, which was recently introduced in the New Jersey Assembly, aligns our state’s energy efficiency programs with clear emissions and climate targets, incentivizing contractors and installers to offer more choices to residents concerned about the rising health costs of fossil fuels. That means New Jersey residents who currently rely on gas will have greater access to superior, state-of-the-art electric alternatives.
Upgrading to heat pumps translates to a safer and healthier environment for families, especially for the 600,000 adults and 167,000 children who suffer from asthma, which is often worsened by indoor and outdoor air pollution in the Garden State. It also helps residents save money by avoiding costly trips to the doctor’s office or emergency room due to respiratory illnesses or asthma attacks.
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In addition to the state incentives that S.249 unlocks, federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act will provide thousands of dollars for low- to moderate-income New Jersey residents who upgrade their homes with energy-efficient appliances. That includes up to $8,000 for heat pumps, $4,000 for electrical panel upgrades, and $1,600 for weatherization upgrades that improve a home’s insulation.
Ensuring greater access to heat pumps, especially for marginalized and low-income communities, is an investment in public health for decades to come. New Jersey residents cannot afford to risk homes leaking dangerous levels of carbon monoxide nor should they be left to breathe health-harming nitrogen oxides and ozone outdoors. Continuing to rely on fossil fuels for heating will leave us with a future that makes us sicker; a future that will impact our children’s quality of life and ability to thrive.
A coalition of health, environmental justice and climate organizations have backed S.249, with advocates rallying in support of the legislation at the Statehouse. It’s time for the Legislature to take note and deliver healthier air to New Jersey residents, free from harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. For the sake of New Jersey residents’ health and well-being, we must pass S.249 right away.
Jaclyn DiDonato is an advocacy manager at the American Lung Association.
