The EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) has announced its newest addition to the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund has now opened, offering co-funding for commercial building air-to-water heat pump hot water systems.
The GIDI Clean Tech programme supports businesses to install equipment upgrades with off-the-shelf, energy-efficient solutions.
Hot water heat pumps are the first technology funded under the GIDI Clean Tech Hot Water Heat Pump programme. The Hot Water Heat Pump (HWHP) programme focuses on air-to-water heat pump hot water systems between 15-50kw and is open for businesses of any size.
Heating water in industrial and commercial businesses consumes nearly 10 percent of all non-transport energy in New Zealand, generating up to 0.4 MtCo2e of low-temperature gas emissions. Hot water heat pumps provide an energy-efficient, low-emissions solution to the traditional technology used to produce hot water in commercial and industrial spaces.
The HWHP programme includes retrofits of hot water heat pumps in commercial buildings,
As well as proven, readily available technologies for equipment replacement. It also allows businesses to switch from fossil-fuelled boilers to ‘air-to-water’ heat pump hot water systems. The programme also allows for co-funding up to 30 to 50 percent of project costs (depending on equipment and water use variables).
Many commercial buildings use fossil fuels (like natural gas) for water heating or old, inefficient electric systems. Further, New Zealand’s commercial buildings use 21 percent of the country’s electricity each year, collectively costing businesses around $800M annually.
Upgrading to more energy-efficient systems will save businesses money in the long term and support a more renewable and resilient electricity grid. Hot water heat pumps provide an energy-efficient, low-emissions solution to the traditional technology that commercial and industrial businesses use for their hot water needs.
The GIDI Clean Tech Hot Water Heat Pump programme offers co-funding targeted at businesses that use a significant amount of hot water, for example, businesses with large bathrooms such as gyms, retirement villages or hotels, with significant commercial kitchens and laundries, or small-scale manufacturers that use significant amounts of hot water for things like processing food.
GIDI Clean Tech is the second co-funding solution for commercial buildings that has recently opened. GIDI Commercial Buildings is currently offering co-funding for larger, more complex hot water heat pump projects for water and space heating.
