Heat Pump Demonstration Project: Large Commercial HVAC

California’s greenhouse gas goals, including SB 32 and AB 3232, target a 40% reduction in building emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. Achieving this reduction requires decarbonizing building systems, particularly natural gas boilers and furnaces in large commercial buildings where heat pumps remain underutilized. Existing electric systems—air conditioners, chillers, & standard heat pumps—often have high energy demands, increasing costs and straining electrical capacity. As California phases out natural gas and high-GWP refrigerants, solutions aligning with state goals are critical.

Funded by the California Energy Commission, ProspectSV, DMG North, and Flow Environmental Systems have embarked on the first-ever U.S. installation of Flow Environmental Systems’ ANSWR hydronic CO2 heat pump, at the world’s most advanced buildings lab. The ANSWR system integrates simultaneous heating, cooling, and domestic hot water production, maintaining high efficiency and using a low-GWP (CO₂, GWP=1) refrigerant. Under this 2-year effort, we’ll be installing and testing the ANSWR system under a variety of run scenarios, demonstrating its ability to provide heating, cooling and domestic hot water simultaneously from one system.