New York Announces $10 Million Now Available To Advance Clean Heating And Cooling Technology For Large Buildings

New York Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that $10 million is now available to advance clean heating and cooling technology for use in large buildings across the state. The State’s new Clean Heat for All: Packaged Terminal Heat Pump program supports the production and demonstration of simple, innovative, and energy-efficient cold-climate heat pumps for consumers to replace existing, less efficient air conditioners. This type of cold-climate heat pump is a plug-and-play solution that will lower emissions from buildings, improve comfort and indoor air quality, and reduce strain on the state electric grid.

“We are investing in growing the market for highly efficient cold-climate heat pumps to help more New Yorkers manage their energy use and experience improved indoor climate control in their homes,” Governor Hochul said. “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.”

The new competitive Clean Heat for All: Packaged Terminal Heat Pump program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will provide funding to selected heating and cooling equipment manufacturers and building owners for product development and field demonstrations of cold-climate heat pumps in multifamily, senior living and hospitality buildings. By delivering high-efficiency performance across New York’s hottest and coldest temperatures, this technology represents an economical high-efficiency option for thousands of multifamily buildings, senior living residences, and hotels throughout New York State.

In working directly with building owners and heat pump manufacturers, NYSERDA will evaluate proposals against products currently available in the market to ensure that the resulting cold-climate heat pumps are affordable solutions that can be easily installed in buildings without requiring costly electric infrastructure upgrades.

“Through this new program, NYSERDA is engaging with manufacturers to drive innovation that modernizes the way we heat and cool existing buildings,” NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said. “These efforts 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.”

The new program is being implemented through two solicitations:

• Under the first solicitation announced today, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning manufacturers are eligible to receive up to $1.25 million for the development and demonstration of cold-climate heat pumps that meet or exceed the product specification details. Awardees will have up to 18 months to develop prototype PTHP units. The deadline to submit proposals is Feb. 20, 2025, at 3 p.m.
• Under the second solicitation, which is expected to open in early 2025, building owners and operators interested in participating in the program will be able to apply to have their buildings qualified as potential demonstration sites. The manufacturers selected through the first solicitation will select demonstration sites from those qualified under the second solicitation and conduct 12-month long field demonstrations, in which the heating and cooling performance of the heat pumps will be closely monitored. NYSERDA will thoroughly evaluate the heat pumps’ performance to confirm that they successfully provide New York State with an economical clean heating and cooling solution.

NYSERDA will host an informational webinar on Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. for those interested in learning more about the new program.

“Electrifying existing buildings often feels like an uphill battle with few heat pumps built for architectural and operational realities,” L+M Development Partners Senior Director of Energy & Sustainability Laura Spencer Humphrey said. “However, the Clean Heat for All: Packaged Terminal Heat Pump Program creates the rare opportunity for future users to shape how the new products will function based on operating experience. L+M applauds NYSERDA for aggregating market demand to advance the development of unitized heat pumps to meet the needs of buyers and users. We look forward to collaborating with NYSERDA and the participating manufacturers to inform the design of heat pumps that will work within existing low-income multifamily buildings, like those found in our portfolio.”

The announcement builds on the success of the Clean Heat for All Challenge, a partnership between the New York Power Authority (NYPA), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to develop a cold-climate window heat pump that can better serve the heating and cooling needs of existing multifamily buildings.

Buildings are one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State, and through NYSERDA and utility programs, more than $6.8 billion is being invested to decarbonize buildings. By improving energy efficiency in buildings and advancing statewide installations of onsite storage, renewables, and electric vehicle charging equipment, the State will clean its building stock and advance toward the ambitious target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 TBtu by 2025, the equivalent of powering 1.8 million homes.

This program is funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.