Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) staff submit the following proposed measure to the Regional Technical Forum (RTF) for a centrally ducted cold climate heat pump specification that includes minimization of supplemental heat. The proposed measure builds upon current market momentum, is consistent with national definitions and tax credit criteria, and adds additional criteria to improve grid flexibility and resilience. The proposed measure only applies to centrally ducted systems primarily because minimizing supplemental heat with ductless systems requires a different set of criteria. While “integrated controls” that allow the ductless systems to control the existing electric baseboard heaters or electric furnaces exists, these have not been proven to be well used by contractors. The proposed measure is divided into two sets of criteria: the first set is based on the heat pump’s performance ratings; the second set defines one of 3 approaches to minimize the use of supplemental electric resistance (ER) heating.
