eTRM Heat Pump Baseline Systems Assessment

Heat pump (HP) space-conditioning systems are an important technology in the residential sector for both energy efficiency (EE) and decarbonization efforts. This project aims to address gaps in current EE portfolio offerings for residential HPs when retrofitting existing buildings with existing systems currently not addressed as baseline systems in measure packages. As the state increases electrification efforts, the lack of baseline systems that are present in the current market is a barrier to incentivizing HP retrofits. The California Electronic Technical Reference Manual (eTRM) is the official repository for deemed measures used by Program Administrators (PAs) and Program Implementers (PIs) under the purview of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The eTRM has several individual measure packages that address deemed savings for HP-related technologies that together form the technical basis for most of the state’s electrification efforts. The existing measure packages may have addressed some of the major baseline conditions, but the options can be limited and may not accurately reflect many retrofit opportunities. This project reviewed existing measure packages to identify where there are differences in baseline system assumptions, how those affect savings claims and how they may impact electrification efforts. The project also addresses how any proposed changes to the measure packages will impact the new total system benefit (TSB) metric when developing savings compared to the existing offerings.