Barnett Plumbing

Overview

Barnett Plumbing will test whether providing temporary gas water heaters to customers who need an emergency water heater replacement – to bridge the time for any required electrical or infrastructural home upgrades to support a HPWH – will enable more households to fuel switch.

Market Barrier

Most water heaters are replaced only when they stop working.  In these situations, customers are often unwilling to wait for the potential electrical upgrades, permits, or other alterations that are required to allow them to switch from gas to heat pump water heating as their urgent need is to get their water heater back in service.

Proposed Solution

If a gas customer would like to fuel-switch to a HPWH, Barnett Plumbing will loan the customer a free gas water heater, installed at no cost, to bridge the time for any required electrical or infrastructural home upgrades.  Barnett Plumbing will provide the loaned water heaters, while QSG funding will cover the plumbers’ installation labor.

Theory of Change

If this approach succeeds in increasing the number of customers who decide to fuel-switch, it could be expanded by TECH funding in future years of the program, or supported by other statewide funding.

Housing Type:

Single family

Technology:

HPWH

Location:

Tri-Valley area in Contra Costa and Alameda counties