Grid-Interactive Heat Pump Water Heating Pilot Program

Challenge: Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), a community choice aggregator (CCA) in California, wanted to develop a grid-interactive heat pump water heater pilot program for residential customers. Research was needed to define what products were available within SCP’s service territory, what savings might be expected from gains in efficiency, and the ability to shift load using innovative rate designs.

Approach: Tierra completed the following research, which was critical to completing the Grid-Interactive Heat Pump Water Heating Pilot Program design:

• Technology Assessment – Evaluated heat pump water heaters from leading manufacturers to identify best-in-class systems.
• Market Assessment – Profiled water heating market in Sonoma County via interviews and market research to ensure the availability of systems.

• Potential Quantification – Quantified the estimated energy savings, GHG emissions reduction, and cost savings for the pilot program for three different use case scenarios.
• Load Shifting and Grid Resource Analysis – Analyzed the load shifting capability and potential benefits to the grid of controlled heat pump water heating. This analysis includes cost savings for customers on standard, time-of-use, and EV-specific rate structures.
• Implementation Plan Development – Developed a guidance document to assist Sonoma through program implementation, including incentive design, customer segmentation and marketing, delivery strategy, administration, and verification and reporting.

Outcome: Tierra delivered the implementation plan and a final report to SCP including the market assessment, technology assessment, and estimated impact potential that helped SCP launch several grid interactive hot water heating solutions. A pdf version of this project description can be downloaded here.