1. In a county whose population is 100,000 or more, a building whose construction, or retrofit that replaces the heating source of the premises, exclusive of maintenance, began on or after October 1, 1983, must not contain a system using electric resistance for heating spaces unless:

(a) The system is merely supplementary to another means of heating;

(b) Under the particular circumstances, no other primary means of heating the spaces is possible other than electric resistance;

(c) The system is a hydronic radiant heating system or a system that uses ground-source heat pumps or water-source heat pumps; or

(d) The system using electric resistance for heating spaces uses electricity produced from renewable energy systems that exist on the owner’s property, including, without limitation, net metering systems.

2. The owner of a property who seeks to use a system using electric resistance for heating spaces must submit an application for an exception pursuant to subsection 1 to the governing body of the applicable local government before beginning construction or retrofitting of the system.

3. The governing body of the local government:

(a) Shall enforce subsection 1;

(b) Shall determine whether the property owner is eligible for an exception pursuant to subsection 1 within 30 days after receiving a complete application from the owner of the property; and

(c) Shall forward its decision to the owner of the property and to the Director.

4. This section does not prohibit the use of incandescent or fluorescent lighting.

5. As used in this section, “electric resistance” means passing an electric current through a resistance, coil, wire or other obstacle which impedes electricity and causes it to produce heat.

(Added to NRS by 1983, 1575; A 1985, 2289; 1993, 1699; 2009, 987, 1376)