In January, Lerned Zint’s gas water heater croaked.
It would have been an inconvenience for anyone. For Zint, a Spanish-speaking mother who runs Corazones Daycare out of her San Francisco home, it was an emergency.
Zint takes care of about 10 children, 6 months to 4 years old. Their sticky fingers and stinky messes make hot water essential.
Thankfully, Zint didn’t have to wait long for a solution. Within days, the San Francisco Environment Department worked with a partner contractor to install a shiny new water heater in her home at no cost — and it runs on an electric heat pump, not gas.
Zint is the first participant in the city’s new electrification pilot program for child care centers run out of residential homes. Led by the Environment Department and funded by a TECH Clean California Quick Start Grant, the $300,000 program will swap gas water heaters for heat-pump options at up to 30 facilities. The initiative could be a model for other communities around the country looking to decarbonize their buildings and thereby give their children access to cleaner, safer air.
