NY Governor Announces Investment in Advanced Clean Heating, Cooling Solutions
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $17.5 million investment in advanced heating and cooling solutions in New York state. Through the state’s Clean Heat for All: Room Heat Pump (Room Heat Pump) program. $10 million is available for field demonstrations of cold-climate packaged window heat pumps in multifamily buildings. Additionally, $7.5 million has been awarded to five manufacturers to accelerate the development of through-wall heat pumps. The announcement facilitates innovation in the development of plug-and-play heating and cooling solutions that will save New Yorkers money by increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption in buildings.
The Room Heat Pump program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, provides funding for the development, installation and monitoring of cold-climate, high-performance room heat pumps, such as through-wall heat pumps and window heat pumps, to improve comfort and temperature control for New York households without the need for extensive building infrastructure upgrades.
$10 Million for Window Heat Pump Demonstrations
NYSERDA is making $10 million available to three qualified heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturers for field demonstrations of cold-climate packaged window heat pumps, an emerging electrification retrofit solution particularly well-suited for multifamily building retrofits, in New York state. The manufacturers and vendors were selected as part of an open enrollment opportunity launched in 2025 after meeting a rigorous set of technical and performance criteria to qualify their clean heating and cooling products through the program.
Owners and managers of multifamily buildings interested in field testing qualified window heat pumps may participate here through June 30, 2027.
$7.5 Million Awarded to Heat Pump Manufacturers for Through-Wall Heat Pumps
Additionally, NYSERDA has awarded $7.5 million to five qualified HVAC manufacturers for the development of cold-climate, through-wall heat pump products. The manufacturers each received $1.5 million to develop and demonstrate an advanced through-wall heat pump that meets rigorous qualification standards to address key barriers to adoption. The products will undergo third-party lab testing and will be available for field demonstrations in selected multifamily buildings as soon as this winter.
Owners of multifamily buildings in upstate New York (Climate Zone 5 & 6) are eligible to host NYSERDA-funded demonstrations of through-wall heat pumps from the five qualified HVAC manufacturers in their properties. Those interested in replacing their existing air conditioners with through-wall heat pumps may submit an application to qualify their building here. Applications are open through Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. NYSERDA will match the qualified buildings with one of the five HVAC manufacturers for a field demonstration of their product at a rate of up to $20,000 per apartment.
NYSERDA will host an informational webinar on the Room Heat Pump program awarded products and program details in the coming weeks. Those interested in attending the webinar should email RoomHeatPumps@nyserda.ny.gov to request to be notified when the webinar details are released.
Demonstrations funded through the Room Heat Pump Program will support the collection and analysis of comprehensive heating and cooling performance data to better inform New York customers interested in exploring this technology and its potential energy savings.
Room heat pump technology can increase the efficiency of New York state’s multifamily sector, offering real energy-saving opportunities for New Yorkers. Across the state’s roughly 3 million residential dwelling units, nearly half were built after 1940 and may possess structural openings suitable for through-wall heat pump installation. For multifamily dwelling units built before 1940, many rely on window air conditioners for cooling, and as a result, are potential candidates for window heat pump retrofits. Beyond the existing building retrofit market, nearly 40% of all multifamily new construction projects in New York are built with through-wall heat pump openings.
This initiative is funded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
