Dive Brief:
- New York is providing $10 million to building owners and HVAC equipment manufacturers to advance heating and cooling technology for use in large buildings across the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Nov. 27.
- The new Clean Heat for All: Packaged Terminal Heat Pump program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will fund the development and demonstration of cold-climate heat pumps in multifamily, senior living and hospitality buildings, according to a Nov. 27 news release.
- The program “will help bring substantial energy efficiency improvements to large buildings — one of the largest contributors of emissions in New York State — and bring forward retrofit solutions that can be replicated more broadly across New York State and beyond,” NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
By improving energy efficiency in buildings, the Clean Heat for All program aligns with the state’s broader goal of cleaning its building stock and progressing toward its target of cutting on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion British thermal units by 2025, NYSERDA said. Across NYSERDA and utility programs, New York state is investing more than $6.8 billion to decarbonize buildings, according to the news release.
The program supports the production and demonstration of “simple, innovative and energy efficient cold-climate heat pumps” that can replace existing, less efficient air conditioners, NYSERDA said. It described such cold climate heat pumps as a “plug-and-play solution” that will lower emissions from buildings, enhance comfort and improve indoor air quality while reducing strain on the state’s electric grid.
NYSERDA will evaluate proposals against products currently available on the market to ensure that it funds products that are affordable and can be easily installed without costly electric infrastructure upgrades, it said.
The program has two parts: Building owners and operators will be able to apply for their buildings to serve as potential demonstration sites, NYSERDA said, with applications expected to open in early 2025. HVAC manufacturers are eligible to receive up to $1.25 million each to develop and demonstrate cold climate heat pumps that meet or exceed certain product specification criteria, according to the release. These criteria include compatibility with standard air conditioner wall sleeves and the ability to maintain heating capacity and sustained heating operation at very low temperatures. Heat pumps must also have defrost mechanisms for outdoor coils that can operate at low temperatures, according to NYSERDA’s program opportunity notice.
Manufacturers will have up to 18 months to develop prototype heat pump units, NYSERDA says. Proposals are due Feb, 20, 2025.
Selected manufacturers will pick from among qualified sites to demonstrate their heat pumps for 12 months with NYSERDA monitoring.
“Investing in solutions that can easily replace older, less efficient units will reduce costs for building upgrades and can provide energy savings to consumers while lowering building emissions,” Hochul said in a statement.
NYSERDA will host an informational webinar Dec. 12 for those interested in learning more about the program.
The Clean Heat for All program is funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, NYSERDA said. RGGI is a cooperative, market-based regulatory effort aimed at capping and cutting greenhouse gas emissions across 10 New England and Mid-Atlantic states.
