Heating and cooling represent the largest energy consumption end-uses for homes in California, with more than 3 million individual air conditioning units in use across the state and 50% of households using gas appliances for heating.
In coordination with California’s decarbonization goals, room heat pumps offer an affordable and highly efficient alternative to central heating and cooling systems.
Room heat pumps are self-contained products that provide efficient heating and cooling for small spaces, such as single rooms, modest apartments, or small homes. They offer both heating and cooling using efficient heat pump technology and can be installed without a certified technician. CalMTA’s Room Heat Pumps market transformation initiative (MTI) seeks to grow market adoption of these efficient alternatives to air conditioning (AC) window units in the summer and small-space electric resistance or gas heating in the winter.
Barriers to their adoption include the need for product improvements to make them ideal for California’s varied climates and the lack of clear product differentiation from non-heat pump options, including the fact there is no ENERGY STAR® designation for room heat pumps.
CalMTA is planning strategic interventions to meet these barriers. These include forging partnerships with manufacturers to pursue technical improvements suitable for the California market and pursuing national specifications and ENERGY STAR certification with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.
This potential MTI could provide a significant opportunity to deliver benefits to environmental and social justice communities, including enhanced household occupant comfort by combining cooling and heating options in a single product. Because they are more affordable than central or mini-split heat pumps and are moveable, they are primed for adoption by renters, who represent nearly half of all households in California. They can also be easily purchased during climate events when supplemental heating or cooling is needed.
We envision a future where the market share of room heat pumps grows, and standalone AC window units and electric resistance heaters decline. Read the Room Heat Pumps MTI Plan FAQs to learn more
The Room Heat Pumps MTI was submitted for application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in December 2024. Upon approval, the MTI would advance to Phase III: Market Deployment.
This Program Strategy Pilot describes the objectives, scope, assessment plan, timelines, and budget supporting the development of the Induction Cooking and Room Heat Pumps Market Transformation Initiatives (MTIs). This plan will help determine whether ENERGY STAR Retail Products Platform (ESRPP) serves as a viable intervention strategy for targeting certain geographic
The Room Heat Pumps fact sheet describes the opportunity, technology, market transformation strategy and equity considerations for this initiative. Space conditioning represents the largest energy consumption end-use for homes in California, with more than 3 million Californians using individual air conditioning (AC) units. Room Heat Pumps are self-contained consumer products
This market characterization study is an output of the Phase II research for the Room Heat Pumps Advancement Plan, finalized in February 2024. The Advancement Plan outlined a high-level research approach focused on investigating the target market, barriers, and opportunities with the goal of supporting the development of the Room
The California Market Transformation Administrator (CalMTA) develops and manages market transformation initiatives in the state to reduce energy use and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
CalMTA follows a rigorous process for reviewing, scoring, and then developing relevant, timely market transformation initiatives. The process supports market transformation initiative creation from concept to program development to market deployment, as well as the eventual exiting of the market.
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