Commercial Air-to-Water HP Market Study

A market evaluation study was conducted to assess the viability of electrifying heating hot water (HHW) systems in large commercial buildings, with the focus on air-to-water heat pumps (AWHP). Air -to-water heat pumps produce HHW that can be used for space heating applications such as HHW coils in air handling unit (AHU) or terminal variable air volume (VAV) boxes, radiant heating, fan coil units, etc. They can be used by themselves or in combination with other equipment such as water-to-water heat pumps or thermal energy storage to either increase their capacity or recover waste heat.  The objectives of this study were to identify commercial AWHP technologies that are currently available, perform a technology and market assessment to size the potential market in California, estimate energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) savings potentials, identify market barriers and opportunities, and provide recommendations for possible utility interventions to support market adoption.