Our Approach
TECH Clean California offers incentives, pilot activities, technical assistance, and training to address barriers associated with clean space and water heating technologies across California homes. Our work will transform the market in the following ways:
The 3 Pillars of TECH Clean California
Incentives for Installations and Upgrades
TECH Clean California is designed to motivate the supply chain and increase consumer demand by providing incentives for contractors to recommend and install heat pump technologies in their customers’ homes. We offer technical and sales training for contractors to build their electrification business, simplifying access to statewide incentives that make heat pump technology more affordable.
According to an Opinion Dynamics online survey of 300 single-family TECH Clean California heat pump water heater homeowners and renters between November and December of 2022 (full report):
- 75 percent of respondents chose the highest level of satisfaction with their heat pump water heaters.
- Most TECH Clean California customers found their heat pump water heaters to be a good investment and are likely to recommend it.
- Those likely to recommend a heat pump water heater found the technology cost effective, high quality, and beneficial to the environment.
Learn more about incentives at the link below.
Equity
TECH Clean California is committed to serving all Californians by helping households of all economic levels achieve the benefits of residential carbon reduction. The initiative weaves that commitment through all aspects of the initiative design and ensures that at least 40 percent of program spending is targeted toward low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Our commitment to equity can be found in:
- Financing: Expanding low-interest financing by the Residential Energy Efficiency Loan (REEL) program and the Affordable Multifamily Financing (AMF) program.
- Pilots: Funding the Inclusive Utility Investment Pilot (IUI) to help income-qualified customers finance energy efficiency and electrification upgrades.
- Workforce Education and Training: Providing hands-on support for contractors who serve and hire from low-income communities.
- Low-Income Pilots: Providing financial support for low-income home improvement programs.
- Quick Start Grants: Providing funding for equity-based Quick Start Grants.
- Incentives: Providing incentives that reach low- to moderate-income projects for both single-family and multifamily buildings.
Please see our Equity Strategy page to learn more.
Regional Pilots
As one of its key initiatives, TECH Clean California deploys pilot programs that test solutions to market barriers impeding the adoption of heat pump space and water heating in single-family and multifamily homes.
Learn more about our current pilots.
Quick Start Grants
The Quick Start Grant program is designed to find and fund targeted, innovative pilots that test approaches to overcoming market barriers to heat pump space and water heating adoption.
Policy and Data Reporting
TECH Clean California is committed to collecting and publishing sales data, energy, and greenhouse gas impacts to inform California’s long-term decarbonization strategy. We believe that the more information we all have, the better decisions we can make to reach our goals.