Rheem, a global water heating and HVAC manufacturer, is pleased to announce early success in the Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible program in partnership with United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., and EnergyHub.
As part of an innovative grid management strategy, UI is using EnergyHub’s Mercury distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) to aggregate, monitor, and leverage customer-deployed Rheem intelligent heat pump water heaters for demand response events.
intelligent heat pump water heaters
UI is using Mercury to manage its Bring Your Own Thermostat demand response program, Smart Savers Rewards
“We are 100-percent committed to sustainability and developing innovative products and solutions to help homeowners efficiently manage their energy and water use,” said John Fitzgerald, Executive Vice President, Operations at Rheem. "Our EcoNet smart connected product integration with EnergyHub’s platform gives UI — and dozens of utilities around the country — the ability to reduce peak demand and help their customers save money on utility bills. It’s a partnership we’re very proud of.”
The program has broadened UI’s demand response portfolio while creating potential for the company to use heat pump water heaters for other grid services in the future. UI is already using Mercury to manage its Bring Your Own Thermostat demand response program, Smart Savers Rewards.
No-cost home energy assessment
“The EnergyHub platform’s integration with Rheem’s intelligent heat pump water heaters opens up a range of possibilities for UI to reduce peak demand and better manage the grid,” said William Riddle, Residential Energy Manager, UI. “This program is a wonderful way to provide some of our customers with ENERGY STAR certified heat pump water heaters while simultaneously helping us manage peak demand. The results are positive for our customers and UI.”
UI is adding Rheem heat pump water heaters to the devices it controls using the Mercury DERMS"Income-eligible UI customers may apply for a no-cost home energy assessment via the utility’s website. Upon completion of the energy assessment, if approved, UI will install a Wi-Fi enabled Rheem intelligent heat pump water heater in qualifying customers’ homes at no cost. Replacing customers’ old, less efficient electric resistance water heaters with Rheem intelligent heat pump water heaters can potentially save customers up to 50 percent on electric water heating costs, as well as help the utility meet its conservation targets.
energy resources
“We’re excited that UI is adding Rheem heat pump water heaters to the devices it controls using the Mercury DERMS,” said Seth Frader-Thompson, President and Co-founder of EnergyHub. “This program combines all the best aspects of a DER program: It’s helping United Illuminating better manage the grid, it’s using best-in-class hardware with Rheem intelligent heat pump water heaters and the leading connected thermostat companies, and it’s helping customers upgrade their homes.”
The intelligent heat pump water heater pilot program is one of several new distributed energy resource programs EnergyHub is launching in 2019 — signaling utilities’ commitment to leveraging a growing variety of behind-the-meter distributed energy resources for demand-side management programs.
