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LED light bulbs and TVs. Front-loading washing machines. Energy-lean refrigerators. All were once nascent technologies that needed a push to become mainstream.
Now, California is trying to add über-efficient plug-in heat pumps and battery-equipped induction stoves to that list.
It’s a tall order; today these innovative products cost thousands of dollars and aren’t widely available in stores, unlike their more polluting, less efficient counterparts that burn fossil fuels or use electric-resistance coils to generate heat.
But late last month, the California Public Utilities Commission signed off on a plan to spend $115 million over the next six years to develop and drive demand for the fossil-fuel-free equipment — a first-of-its-kind investment for the state. These appliances, which plug into standard 120-volt wall outlets, don’t need professional installers or the expensive electrical upgrades sometimes required for conventional whole-home heat pumps or 240-volt induction stoves. That ease of installation makes them crucial tools in California’s quest to decarbonize its economy by 2045.
The initiatives to boost plug-in heat pumps and induction stoves are explicitly meant to help put electrification within reach of renters, low-income households, and frontline communities that have suffered disproportionate environmental harms and disinvestment.
“This is an incredible example of what it looks like to center [these] communities,” said Feby Boediarto, energy justice manager of the statewide grassroots coalition California Environmental Justice Alliance. “It’s extremely important to think about the long-term vision of electrification for all homes, especially those who’ve been heavily burdened by pollution. And these initiatives are stepping stones to that vision.”
California’s move comes as the federal government seeks to dismantle efficiency programs and policies even as U.S. energy costs surge. The Trump administration is eliminating federal tax credits for energy-saving home upgrades at the end of the year. Meanwhile, a Republican-sponsored bill making its way through Congress would make energy-conservation standards for appliances more difficult to create — and easier to undo.
California’s initiatives, developed by the commission’s California Market Transformation Administrator (CalMTA) program, are multipronged. They take aim at the whole supply chain, from tech development to distribution to consumer education, said Lynette Curthoys, who leads CalMTA. The initial investment by the world’s fourth-largest economy is expected to deliver about $1 billion in benefits, including avoided electric and gas infrastructure costs, through 2045.
One major goal is to bring the price tag of battery-powered induction stoves way down. Current products from startups Copper and Impulse start at about $6,000 and $7,000, respectively — far more than top-rated gas ranges, which customers can snag for less than $1,000.
As for the heat-pump plan, an essential element will be encouraging manufacturers to develop products for the California market in particular.
One quirk they have to deal with is that windows in the Golden State commonly slide open from side to side or by swinging outward. The most efficient window-unit heat pumps available on the market today, by contrast, are designed to fit windows that open up and down.
To spark better-suited designs, the state intends to create competitions for manufacturers — a strategy that’s worked before.
In 2021, the New York City Housing Authority, along with the New York Power Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, issued the Clean Heat for All Challenge. The competition pushed manufacturers to produce a window heat pump that could handle the region’s chilly winters, with a promise to purchase 24,000 units for public housing. San Francisco-based startup Gradient and Guangdong, China-based manufacturer Midea made the requisite technological leaps for New York. The state later bumped up its heat-pump order to 30,000 units.
CalMTA, in a similar vein, plans to aggregate demand from multifamily-building owners to entice manufacturers to participate in heat-pump and induction tech challenges. The one for heat pumps is expected to launch in mid-2027. Curthoys said the induction contest will come later, after the administrator makes tweaks required by regulators to the clean-cooking initiative.
Gradient has “been working closely with CalMTA over the past year to support this plan,” said Vince Romanin, the company’s founder and chief technology officer. “We’re thrilled to see a clear, coordinated strategy that benefits both manufacturers and consumers.”
Copper plans to participate in the challenge for battery-equipped induction stoves, said Sam Calisch, founder and CEO at the startup. “Copper is now significantly scaling its manufacturing and distribution to meet demand,” and CalMTA’s initiative is “a key element of this effort,” he noted.
The administrator also aims to incentivize appliance retailers to drive adoption.
“We found that a key influencer of buying decisions are actually the sales associates,” Curthoys said. “Some of our interventions will focus on training sales associates to understand the benefits of induction and encourage customers to buy it.”
CalMTA is running a pilot that started the week of Black Friday and gives sales associates “a small bonus” for every induction stove they sell, Curthoys said. This tactic, one of many, played a role in the successful market-transformation campaign for front-loading clothes washers, the administrator reports: In the late 1990s, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance provided retail employees with a typical bonus of $10 for each unit they sold. The alliance’s efforts helped drive these efficient appliances from just 2% of household washer sales in the U.S. in 1993 to 10% in 2000. In 2020, that market share had bloomed to 53%.
CalMTA’s hope is for affordable versions of plug-in heat pumps and induction stoves to be widely available for purchase by 2030.
More appliances could follow. The administrator is working on plans to spur demand for energy-efficient technologies such as heat-pump water heaters, as well as windows and rooftop heat pumps for commercial buildings, Curthoys said.
Ultimately, the state’s investment could benefit households around the country, she noted. “When these [products] become available, they will be suitable for other markets — well beyond California.”
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