Making Electrification Accessible to Disadvantaged Communities Through Heat Pump Water Heater Education and Outreach Strategies

August 23, 2024

Equitably decarbonizing buildings does not mean equally distributing technologies across populations. Rather, it is about uplifting those who are most vulnerable, and resource constrained. With their support and their voices, we’ll have the insights and best practices needed to influence policy and drive community-wide transformation.

The Energy Coalition Quick Start Grant project, part of the larger community-wide Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) demonstration project, tests a comprehensive education and outreach strategy targeted to low-income single family homes in disadvantaged communities to make the process of home electrification accessible. Through this project, the team provided a suite of services to homeowners that established a realistic path to electrification, resulting in 20 heat pump water heater retrofits for participating households. Ultimately, this program established a pathway for low-income homes to reduce energy consumption, generate utility bill savings, electrify their homes, and increased home energy resiliency.

Building trust with residents was a critical first step and core component to generating buy-in for proactive water heater replacements and decarbonization. By introducing residents to home electrification through the no-cost services, homeowners felt more empowered and comfortable taking action. This project serves as a model for how to authentically engage with communities in program design what it will take to equitably transition homes to clean energy technologies.

To learn more about this Quick Start Grant, read the full report.