Multifamily Micro Heat Pump Focus Pilot

Micro Heat Pumps (“Micro HPs”) are efficient, rapidly deployable heat pumps that require minimal professional installation. Micro HPs are suitable for compact spaces where heat pumps can replace or displace existing air conditioners and space heating, or where traditional split or central systems are too costly or difficult to install. Additionally, packaged Micro HPs can connect to standard 120V NEMA 5-15 outlets without field-installed refrigerant lines and are available in a variety of form factors such as saddle, window, portable, and through-the-wall. This pilot will test Micro HP market invention strategies for multifamily customers. This pilot will be employing a new market mechanism by offering incentives to multifamily property and building owners to purchase and install Micro HPs into their buildings. The pilot will assess the viability and efficacy of property owner incentives in driving market adoption of Micro Heat Pumps, particularly as it pertains to DAC/HTR communities. If the pilot finds property owners are not a feasible route for an incentive program design, the pilot will evaluate potential tenant incentive program designs. Through pilot activities, the team will seek to answer the following research questions through each task of the pilot:Site Recruitment and Installation-    What intervention strategies will help increase awareness and adoption levels of Micro Heat Pumps among customers in DAC/HTR communities?-    What building property managers/owners are interested in this technology and what are the key considerations for partnering with property owners and tenants?Incentive Program Design-    What is needed for property owners to become a viable pathway for increasing the adoption of Micro Heat Pumps in multifamily buildings? -    What program design elements enable multifamily property owners to adopt MHPs cost effectively?-    What program design elements will persuade MF property owners to choose Micro HPs over more carbon-intensive alternatives?User Feedback Survey-    How effective are Micro Heat Pumps at addressing multifamily tenants’ heating and cooling needs? -    What feedback do tenants have on the noise, condensation, and operational performance of Micro HP?  Identified Barriers, Interventions, and Relation to the Proposed Pilot ActivitiesLack of technology awareness in the DAC and HTR communities - The CalNEXT 2024 Focus Pilot TPM (“TPM”) explains that partnerships with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and affordable housing associations are necessary to increase awareness of Micro Heat Pumps technology. The pilot will partner with CBOs and/or affordable housing authorities to increase awareness of Micro Heat Pump technology and the benefits associated with multifamily property and building owners and tenants by distributing informational marketing materials on Micro HP technology. Unverified noise level and condensation management - The pilot plans to address this barrier by installing Micro Heat Pumps into multifamily tenant units and conducting surveys to collect feedback on occupant comfort levels, including noise, heating and cooling performance, and overall equipment performance. Installation limitations due to... window types, and structural limitations - The pilot will address this barrier by assessing the building characteristics of the multifamily buildings participating in the pilot. Cost may add up quickly when multiple MHP units are needed - The TPM explains that, though MHPs are less expensive than central air systems, when multiple MHP units are needed to serve an apartment, the affordability can be prohibitive for customers, especially those in HTR communities and DACs. To address this barrier, the pilot aims to test an incentive program design for multifamily and affordable housing customers which will lower the equipment cost and accessibility for customers. The pilot will test an incentive program design that offers incentives to property owners, or, if the pilot determines property owners are not a viable pathway, directly through tenants. Additionally, the pilot aims to offer different incentives levels for different micro heat pump form factors (window units, saddle units, etc.) relative to the cost of the equipment. The pilot will test the incentive program design by measuring uptake, influence assessing participant interest levels, equipment installations, the cost-effectiveness of the equipment at the pilot incentive amount, and overall participant engagement in the pilot. Existing performance data is not sufficient to support program design - To address this barrier, the pilot will offer gift cards to pilot participants in exchange for permission to conduct equipment monitoring on installed micro heat pumps. Through equipment monitoring, the pilot will attempt to collect power and energy usage data from the MHP equipment and analyze in conjunction with building data and local environmental data to contextualize the findings. Equipment monitoring will be offered to customers on an opt-in basis and will not be required for participation in the pilot. Target MarketThe pilot aims to partner with property owners/building managers of multifamily buildings, with an emphasis on affordable housing. The pilot’s site recruitment effort will focus on multifamily buildings with roughly 20-30 dwelling units, and with each dwelling unit’s square footage being under ~1,000 square feet. The pilot will consider multifamily buildings with a variety of heating and cooling configurations, including but not limited to, central air, window AC units, electric resistance heating, etc. If the pilot finds sites outside of the criteria listed above that are interested in participating in the pilot, they will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The pilot will target geographic regions based on the result of the site recruitment, including all customers within CA IOU territory.