Catalyzing the Mass Adoption of High Efficiency Technologies in the Multifamily Housing Market
ICAST’s objective was to catalyze the adoption of very-high-efficiency (VHE) HVAC and water heaters in multifamily (MF) housing. Its previous experience delivering VHE heat pumps in this segment has revealed the following benefits: (1) reduced operational costs, such as maintenance or repairs for old conventional systems; (2) reduced utility bills for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) tenants; and (3) healthier, safer, and more comfortable environments for renter households. Over the three-year program period, ICAST built support for and interest in these technologies through activities designed to educate MF owners, key legislators, and government agency representatives about the costs and benefits of VHE heat pump-based HVAC (HP HVAC) and domestic hot water (DHW) systems. ICAST developed this project around several key goals: (1) Secure five pilot sites to deliver VHE installs and monitor their performance against the conventional systems installed at the same sites; (2) Utilize pilot data to build partnerships and provide education, resulting in real-world policy language that ICASTs’ policy partners could utilize for advocacy; (3) Provide education on VHE technologies and move the market through a combination of more than 300 VHE installations and adoptions of VHEsupportive codes or policies. ICAST’s accomplishments were as follows: • Five pilot studies completed. • The production and dissemination of a Resource Guide, utilizing the materials created for this Program. The Guide is designed to help MF owners and managers, policymakers, utilities, energy efficiency program implementers, and others advance the deployment VHE heat pump HVAC and water heaters in MF. • The project team, especially ICAST’s partner SWEEP, conducted extensive outreach to legislators and regulators. SWEEP also drafted and disseminated a municipal ordinance and model building code language that could be adopted by jurisdictions to implement VHE components for existing residential buildings. During the period of performance for this grant, one municipality implemented a policy for electrification in existing residential buildings. • This grant led into ICAST’s Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) grant. Under BENEFIT, ICAST is working with various partners to develop cold-climate air-source heat pump (ccASHP) training for the HVAC industry. MF constitutes almost a third of the housing in the U.S.—scaling up VHE adoption in this segment can assist in achieving critical greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and preserving housing affordability for LMI communities. It can also create local economic development and jobs, and create a cost-effective and consumer-friendly option for utilities to manage energy demand. ICAST will utilize best practices and lessons learned through this project to capitalize on the new opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It should be noted that the IRA’s massive incentives—especially for affordable housing—will change the adoption rate for VHE solutions in the coming years. As that occurs, many of the cost considerations and conclusions reached over the course of this grant will no longer be valid.
- Research Organization:
- ICAST
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
- Contributing Organization:
- DOE, EERE, BTO, CBI
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0009080
- OSTI ID:
- 2006858
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-ICAST-09080-1; DE-FOA-0002099
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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