ET24SWE0017 - Small Medium Business HPWH Emergency Deployments
120-volt plug-in heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) are a proven, market-ready technology offering significant decarbonization potential as emergency replacements in the small medium business market. It is estimated that 90% of water heating replacements occur on an emergency basis. Without an easy, fast and affordable replacement solution, small and medium-sized business owners are likely to opt for replacement with gas/propane water heaters. A low-power design can plug into existing wall outlets without expensive electrical panel upgrades and/or rewiring often required for gas WH replacements. The recent California-wide field study observed an average monthly energy consumption savings of approximately 85% in comparison to the pre-existing gas/propane water heater when normalized to kWh. 120-volt HPWH retrofits will allow space and power constrained small and medium-sized businesses to help CA meet its’ 6 million heat pump installation goals.
This project objective is to assess and validate the applicability of plug-in HPWHs to small medium businesses with failing (or failed) water heaters. The approach is to evaluate small medium business hot water demand/draw profiles, understand whether plug-in HPWH capabilities can meet immediate business needs, and validate plug-in HPWH technology as an emergency replacement.
Fuel-switching from gas water heating to a HPWH often triggers expensive and time-consuming electrical upgrades, including panel upgrades and rewiring when the business site infrastructure is not configured to accommodate a new 240V appliance. These upgrades can add thousands of dollars to retrofit costs and the time and expense required pose significant barriers to fuel-switching, especially when a customer is seeking an emergency water heater replacement. Plug-in 120V HPWH technology allows for the usage of existing wall outlets rather than requiring expensive electrical upgrades. TRC will perform a baseline site selection criteria study to finalize couple of high impact businesses that will be targeted. Based on the market study findings, we will identify viable sites/business types and install up to 5 plug-in HPWHs in small to medium business applications. The project will collect installation cost data and conduct surveys on customer and installer satisfaction with the new water heating equipment.
This field study will evaluate the viability of plug-in HPWHs as emergency replacements for the small medium business market. Lessons learned from this project can advance commercialization of this technology and provide program design data points for CalTF and IOUs, contributing to addition of the measure in existing TRMs, and allowing faster deployment and scaling.
Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often replace failed water heaters with gas equipment because electric alternatives can require panel upgrades, added wiring, and longer installation timelines. 120 V plug-in heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) could offer a simpler emergency replacement pathway that supports building decarbonization, but little field data exists on whether they can meet SMB hot water needs in practice.
This study evaluated whether 120 V plug-in HPWHs are a viable option for SMB applications with modest domestic hot water demand. The work focused on three questions: (1) what hot water draw profiles are typical in SMBs, (2) whether 120 V HPWHs can meet those loads, especially in emergency replacement situations, and (3) how customers and contractors experience installation and operation.
The project team installed and monitored 120 V HPWHs at five SMB sites: a shopping center, small office, warehouse, nonprofit social service agency, and religious organization with preschool functions. Field metering captured hot water draws, electrical energy use, and water temperatures, and the team used these data to estimate daily usage, coefficient of performance (COP), baseline energy use, and operating costs.
Results showed that all five sites used much less hot water than traditional sizing methods would predict, and 120 V HPWHs were adequate from a capacity standpoint at every site. However, low and intermittent demand reduced efficiency: at the warehouse, office, and nonprofit sites, COP was often below 1 on low-use days, while the religious organization achieved weekday COP above 3.0 but lower weekend performance. The findings suggest that 120 V HPWHs are viable for a targeted subset of SMBs with modest but meaningful loads and compact plumbing layouts, while very low-use or dispersed-fixture sites may be better served by point-of-use electric resistance or hybrid approaches.