Commercial and MF CO2-based Heat Pump Water Heater Market Study and Field Demonstration

This work studies California (CA) multifamily building applications of central heat pump water heating (CHPWH) systems with carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigerant. Two low-income elder living buildings in San Francisco were retrofitted with CHPWH systems, presenting an opportunity to study the emerging technology in situ. The project team collaborated with the building owners, system designers, and heat pump equipment manufacturers to study the performance and load shifting capacity of the system. The project team used these results to quantify system energy efficiency benefits, market potential, and electrical load management. The report includes recommendations for product design, program support, and additional future study directions.