News from AWHI and our partners

Small Commercial HPWH Field Study

In the small commercial market—hotels, grocery stores, quick service restaurants, etc.—HPWHs are promising. To advance this technology that can provide substantial energy savings, peak demand savings, and greenhouse gas reductions; providing field validation is essential.  

From 2025 through 2026, NBI will perform independent field monitoring of about 20-30 small commercial HPWHs to assess energy performance, installer acceptance, and user satisfaction in California, and possibly other states, to support market commercialization and streamline utility program deployment. 

Field performance data will help electricity providers, manufacturers, regulators, policymakers, and others understand the commercial requirements and electricity load impacts needed to build market confidence and encourage more manufacturers to bring these small commercial HPWH products to market. Do you want to see particular systems, building types, or projects in your region included? Are you aware of small commercial buildings looking to decarbonize their hot water systems? If so, please send us a message.

Engage with AWHI events

Event times below are noted in Pacific Time Zone

AWHI All Stakeholder Meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Don't miss this quarterly AWHI big tent meeting where we bring all working groups together to discuss water heating transformation. The focus of this meeting will be twofold: 1.) How to Grow Consumer Awareness and Drive Transformation and 2.) The State of the HPWH Market. Let us know about your interest and receive a calendar invitation to join us.

AWHI’s working groups include Residential, Commercial, Connectivity, and Equity. Would you or someone from your organization like to attend these meetings?  Sign up for calendar invitations and links to join regularly held working group meetings.

The next Working Group meeting scheduled this month is the Residential Working Group meeting on Tuesday, Dec 17, from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

HPWH Day is a wrap: market transformers uniting for impact

On October 24, 2024 advocates, manufacturers, installers, homebuilders, and HPWH owners united to celebrate the third annual Heat Pump Water Heater Day. 

Highlights from the day include 
- Keynote recording with Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary, Department of Energy 
- Opening plenary with Commissioner Andrew McAllister 
- Representation from every manufacturer 
- A wide range of represented technologies including 120-volt HPWHs, Central HPWHs, and HPWHs by new manufacturers

- The first-ever Excellence in Water Heating Awards recognition

- 876 registrants for the day's live program
- 150+ organizations posting online

Topics covered include  
- Full HPWH Market Transformation: The Roadmap to 2040 
- HPWH Solutions in Low-Rise Multi-Family and Light Commercial 
- HPWHs in New Construction 
- Residential and Commercial HPWH Load Shifting - Lessons from the Field 
- 120-Volt Heat Pump Water Heaters 

A special thank you to participants, sponsors, and partners!

Excellence in Water Heating Awards

This year, we recognized the excellence in advanced water heating by individuals and groups who are leading the way to significant advancements and installations of HPWHs and increasing equitable access to HPWHs in homes and businesses. We received 27 stellar nominations for our inaugural recognition program. A special thank you goes to our judges panel with AWHI Working Group leads and other industry thought leaders that made the difficult decisions and chose our award winners.

Residential HPWH Market Transformers Award 

—TECH Clean California’s HPWH Program 
—Cooper Marcus, Chief Quitter, QuitCarbon

HPWH Equity Program Excellence Award
—Code Bruder, Senior Technical Program Manager, The Energy Coalition
  

HPWH New Construction Excellence Award
—Clayton Homes 

Star HPWH Installer Award
—Steve Brotton, Great Northwest Installations  

Water Heating Award Winner for Lifetime Achievement
—Geoff Wickes, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance  

We are so excited to recognize these leaders in our industry and look forward to working with them and all of you to transform the water heater market in favor of HPWHs! Consider who you might nominate for these awards when we seek Excellence in Water Heating nominations in 2025!   

Heat Pump Water Heater Tour Across America

Joseph Wachunas traveled around the U.S. and shared his experiences with us in this series on CleanTechnica.

Touring Bradford White’s Heat Pump Water Heater Factory Was a Dream Come True for This Efficiency Nerd. The first stop of his heat pump water heater tour across America was an incredible experience that allowed me to see every step of how my favorite technology is made. A lot of magic happens at the Bradford White factory, from metal sheets arriving on pallets to packaged cardboard boxes leaving on trucks with heat pump water heaters inside. 9/16/2024 

This Central Heat Pump Water Heater in Chicago Was One of the First to Be Installed in a Cold Climate. The second stop of his heat pump water heater tour across America was in Chicago to check out one of the first installations of a central heat pump water heater (a heat pump water heater that provides hot water for many apartments in a multifamily building) at an affordable housing development called La Paz Place. 9/25/2024 

  
Intellihot’s Electron is a Tankless Heat Pump Water Heater for Commercial Buildings. The third stop of his heat pump water heater tour across America in advance of Heat Pump Water Heater Day was in Vernon Hills, Illinois, to check out the world headquarters of Intellihot, a company that is making an interesting type of commercial heat pump water heater that needs much less storage capacity. 10/3/2024 

Heat Pumps + Renewable Energy — The Perfect Pairing for a Better Future. Published by CleanTechnica. Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese and now heat pumps and renewable energy. These two technologies pair perfectly together and are critical to decarbonizing our country. On Joe's heat pump water heater tour across America, he couldn’t help but notice and be inspired by how together they are transforming our world for the better. 10/13/2024 

Tracking the Heat Pump & Water Heater Market in the U.S. 

RMI recently launched a web tool that tracks the heat pump and water heater market. Key data points from July 2023-June 2024 include:  

Leveraging data from the Air Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), RMI released this useful tool to monitor the growth and impact of heat pumps and electric water heaters. The data will be updated quarterly with the most recent monthly data.  

Decarbonization Technology Snapshot

U. S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) developed this technology overview. Heat pump water heaters running on electricity instead of natural gas, reduce on-site Scope 1 emissions and often result in reduced total emissions. Learn more in this two-page factsheet. 10/22/2024 

HPWHs in recent news

Bradford White helps fund expansion of ECA heat pump internship program through Industry Forward® grant. Published by PR News. Bradford White Corporation is partnering with Pennsylvania's Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) for the third consecutive year to expand training on heat pump technology to meet future marketplace demands. 12/3/2024 

Cheap, Clean Heat Pumps Are Here To Stay. Published by Forbes. The IRA rebates offer up to $14,000 to low- and moderate-income households to purchase heat pumps for space and water heating. This combined with other energy efficiency incentives, these programs will save an estimated $1 billion annually on energy bills and create over 50,000 U.S. jobs. 11/17/2024 

Home Energy Rebates Are on the Way. Here’s What to Know. Published by Wirecutter 
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—the biggest climate bill in US history—is helping push more Americans toward electric vehicles, solar panels, and other renewable energy sources. It may also change how people cook, do laundry, and heat their homes: The bill sets aside at least $4.5 billion for the first-ever federal consumer rebates on Energy Star–approved electric ranges, ovens, cooktops, heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters or dryers. 11/15/2024 

California Hotel Converts to Heat Pump Water Heaters. Published by Contractor magazine. The staff at Spark by Hilton™ turned to A. O. Smith for a water heater capable of providing ample hot water to their hotel. It’s no simple task to supply hot water all day, every day, to a hotel with 85 rooms, a kitchen and multiple commercial laundry facilities. But for A. O. Smith, it was the perfect opportunity to showcase the power of the CHP-120 Fully Integrated Commercial Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH). 10/17/2024 

Commentary: New study identifies central heat pump water heater benefits. Multifamily buildings can optimize hot water use and store energy via emerging technology. Published by Energy News Network. Interest in heat pump water heater technology is rapidly growing, given its energy efficiency relative to gas-fueled equipment. For apartment building owners, especially those of large buildings, emerging heat pump technology now offers the possibility of using the stored hot water as a thermal battery, to better manage a building’s power use. 10/14/2024 

Heat pump water heaters take energy efficiency to new level. Published by MyVillager. When Kristin Mroz Risse and her husband, William, renovated their 1909 home in Saint Anthony Park, they replaced all of their natural gas appliances with electric ones. Mroz Risse, co-director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s GreenStep Cities and Tribal Nations Program, said that creating an all-electric home included installing a new Rheem heat pump water heater. The water heater’s energy efficiency was a big attraction. 10/18/2024 

Find out more about AWHI Working Groups

Residential: Contact Paul Campbell or Owen Howlett, AWHI Residential HPWH leads, with questions or for more information. 

Commercial: Contact Keshmira McVey, AWHI Commercial HPWH lead, with questions or for more information about the Commercial Working Group. 

Connectivity: Contact Eric Olson, AWHI Grid-Connectivity HPWH lead, with questions or for more information. 

Thank you to our supporters!

AWHI is a national collaboration between building owners, utilities, federal agencies, state and local government, engineers, educators, manufacturers, and the supply chain with stakeholders from over 400 entities. We invite your organization to join the AWHI supporters below in supporting and guiding this national market transformation effort.