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Air Source Heat Pump Retrofit and Upgrade

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Work Products

UES Measures Standard protocols list Demand Response Technologies Supporting Documents Propose a measure or standard protocol Proposed measures and status Whole Building Efforts

Subcommittees

  • Agricultural Irrigation
  • Air Source Heat Pumps
  • Commercial HVAC
  • Compressed Air
  • Connected Thermostats
  • Demand Response
  • Ductless Heat Pumps
  • Duct Sealing
  • Guidelines
  • Heat Pump Water Heaters
  • Implementers Group
  • Market Analysis
  • Natural Gas Subcommittee
  • New Homes Standard Protocol
  • Non-Residential Lighting
  • Operations
  • Pump Systems
  • Research and Evaluation
  • Residential Behavior
  • Residential Lighting
  • RTF Policy Advisory Committee
  • Small and Rural Utilities
  • Statistical Methods
  • Whole Building Subcommittee
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UES Measure

  • Air Source Heat Pump Retrofit and Upgrade

Air Source Heat Pump Retrofit and Upgrade

At a Glance

Status 
under development
Fuel type 
electric
Sector 
commercial
Applications 
HVAC

Decisions

Expand All Decisions

Latest decision

Decision details

Decided 
September 21, 2021
RTF Meeting: September 21-22, 2021

Allocate Resources

Decision Details

Allocate resources to developing measures for:

  • ASHPs for Commercial Buildings
  • PTHPs for MF and Commercial
  • Efficient Electric Vehicles

Develop a technical white paper on:

  • Commercial Whole Building Performance

And conduct additional scoping for:

  • Smart Inverters Enabled for Voltage Optimization

Proposer Information

Proposer Information

Name
Jamie Anthony
Organization
BPA

Description

Basis for Energy Savings

An Air Source Heat Pump Retrofit replaces an existing electric-resistance heating system with an efficient electric ASHP (e.g., add an electric ASHP to a system where one did not previously exist).

An ASHP Upgrade either: 1) replaces an existing electric air source heat pump with a more efficient electric ASHP (e.g., replacing a code minimum heat hump that meets BPA's heat pump efficiency requirements); or 2) is an efficient electric ASHP installed as part of a building addition project, new construction project or major renovation project.

Energy savings were calculated based on analysis of a sampling of heat pump projects completed in BPA territory with the BPA heat pump calculator tool, and which included a whole building billing analysis.

  • For Heat Pump Retrofits, the base case heating system is an electric-resistance heating system. The base case cooling system is a 2015 Washington code-compliant cooling system for the purposes of calculating savings above the baseline.
  • For Heat Pump Upgrades, the base case is a 2015 Washington code-compliant heat pump for both the cooling and heating savings analysis.
  • For both Heat Pump Retrofits and Upgrades, the efficient case used to calculate energy savings is based on an anticipated average project installation representing the 88th percentile of efficiency

Efficiency requirements listed below are based on the 75th percentile of performance for ASHPs per the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) as of January 2019.

Requirements and Specifications

  • These measures cannot be used to retrofit packaged terminal air conditioning (PTAC) units.

Preconditions—Heat Pump Retrofit:

  • The space is conditioned by zonal or forced-air, electric-resistance heat as the primary heating source. No other heating sources are eligible.

Preconditions—Heat Pump Upgrade:

  • The space is conditioned by an operational or failed air source heat pump; or
  • The space is part of a building addition, new construction, or a major renovation project.

Post-Conditions:

The installed heat pump must:

  • Be an air-to-air heat pump;
  • Have an AHRI certificate of product rating; and
  • Meet BPA’s efficiency requirements for both heating and cooling per the table below
Equipment Size (cooling capacity; BTU/H)ModeSub-Category or Rating ConditionEfficiency Requirement
<65,000CoolingSplit System and Single Package16.0 SEER
HeatingSplit System9.0 HSPF
Single Package8.8 HSPF
≥ 65,000 and < 135,000CoolingSplit System and Single Package14.0 IEER
Heating47°F db/43°F wb Outdoor Air3.5 COP
17°F db/15°F wb Outdoor Air2.4 COP
≥ 135,000CoolingSplit System and Single Package12.5 IEER
Heating47°F db/43°F wb Outdoor Air3.4 COP
17°F db/15°F wb Outdoor Air2.4 COP

Documentation Requirements

Documentation DescriptionRetention/Submittal Locations
BPA Energy Efficiency Reporting SystemEEDocs@BPA.govCustomer File
End-user identifying information including unique site ID and addressX X
Equipment or contractor invoice showing:
  1. Equipment order or purchase date
  2. Installed cost
  X
AHRI Certificate documenting the efficiency requirements have been met  X
Completed ASHP Project Information Form  X

Payment

Project reporting to BPA is based on whole tons of outdoor cooling capacity and shall be calculated at a project level using one of the following methods:

  1. Sum the tons from all heat pumps installed, then round to the nearest whole ton; or
  2. Round each individual heat pump to the nearest whole ton, then sum all rounded tons.

The two methods are provided to accommodate different types of equipment and capacities

Measure CategoryPayment
Air Source Heat Pump—Retrofit$1,000 per ton
Air Source Heat Pump—Upgrade$150 per ton

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