Flexible load efficiency from Multifamily Central HPWHs: A technology ready for utility program support

The market for central heat pump water heater systems (CHWPH) for multifamily and commercial buildings has been transforming rapidly. Tools have been developed to standardize a systems approach and enable repeatable, predictable, reliable, results. These tools include the Advanced Water Heater Specification v8.1, the Qualified Product List, the Ecosizer, and a standard M&V and load shifting protocol. Standard CHPWH system designs have been developed for several manufacturers and these systems have been demonstrated with load shift capabilities in the field. While this body of work has been shown to produce high performance results, there have been many poorly performing custom CHPWH systems installed in the region that are not utilizing these methodologies. To advance this market we now need robust utility program support to steer the market to use of these solutions over least cost approaches which have been shown to produce typically poor results. This presentation will explain how to access and utilize the available tools to avoid most common sources of problems that have accompanied many early CHPWH system installations. We will discuss options for how these tools can be used as the basis for end user and/or midstream utility program offerings.