Foodservice Water Heating Systems
CalMTA has developed Advancement Plans for six market transformation ideas. These plans describe the research and investigation that would be needed to complete an eventual full Market Transformation Initiative (MTI) Plan to determine a market transformation (MT) theory and scope for future implementation. Below is a summary of the market transformation idea for Foodservice Water Heating Systems, currently in Phase II: Program Development.
Sector: Commercial foodservice facilities
Product Definition: Medium-duty electric commercial water heaters with the ability to meet the unique hot water demand, delivery/recovery rate, and water temperature requirements of the foodservice industry offer significant emissions reductions and energy savings relative to the incumbent gas water heating technology used in most commercial kitchens.
This potential MTI would support adoption of ENERGY STAR-certified, medium-duty commercial electric water heaters that are designed, configured, and controlled to optimize electricity use and allow demand flexibility. Additional opportunities to improve efficiency of electric water heating systems include: 1) integrated multi-function heat pump systems that provide simultaneous space cooling and water heating; and 2) heat recovery systems that capture waste heat from kitchens and dishwashing machines to pre-heat water or reduce overall hot water demand. The final specification may include requirements around sound level, footprint, and the use of low or ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.
Preliminary Market Transformation Theory: The commercial foodservice sector has the highest energy intensity of all commercial building types, consuming up to five times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings. Roughly 28% of all commercial sector natural gas use is from restaurants and food stores as documented by the California Commercial End-Use Survey in 2006 across an estimated 93,300 commercial food service facilities operating in California.
As a result of decarbonization goals and regulatory pressures, there is a need and opportunity to establish a cohesive pathway for accelerating the market shift from gas to electric foodservice equipment. However, transitioning commercial kitchens from gas to electric across all appliances may result in significant upfront and ongoing costs. Specifically targeting water heating will allow CalMTA to explore carbon reduction strategies that may be applicable across broader commercial kitchen appliances while focusing on an end-use that provides a stronger value proposition to business owners.
To reach and influence the target market this potential MTI will engage the supply chain and industry to increase the stocking, sale, awareness, training of available equipment while working with manufacturers to influence the development of new products.
Learn more
In this video, recorded at our July 12, 2024 Market Transformation Advisory Board Meeting, Sepideh Rezania outlines the preliminary market transformation theory for the Foodservice Water Heating Systems MT idea.