The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), in partnership with a national coalition of energy-efficiency organizations including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), has announced Midea as the winner of the Hot Water Innovation Prize, a national competition designed to make efficient water heating available to more households, faster.
The winning solution addresses one of the largest barriers to broader adoption of heat pump water heaters: space. Heat pump water heaters use a fraction of the energy of standard electric resistance water heaters, but conventional sizes are often too big for homes with limited space. Midea’s new split-system heat pump water heater, developed through the Innovation Prize, means families in apartments, condominiums, manufactured homes, and other spaces could soon have the option of installing an energy-saving heat pump water heater.
“This prize was created to solve a significant market challenge that has kept this highly efficient technology from reaching more homes,” said Becca Yates, executive director of NEEA. “The innovation recognized today gives families more energy-saving options by making heat pump water heating a practical choice for a wider range of consumers.”
Midea is a global manufacturer of home appliances and technology with a long history of developing products designed to improve everyday life.
“At Midea, innovation starts with understanding our customers’ needs,” said Sarah Chinberg, Packaged AC Regulatory Engineer. “We participated in the Hot Water Innovation Prize because we saw an opportunity to bring the benefits of heat pump water heating to more homes. This recognition validates our team’s work to develop a practical solution that delivers savings and flexibility with the performance that our customers expect.”
Analyzing data from the U.S. Department of Energy, NEEA estimates that these split-system heat pump water heaters have the potential to lower energy use for more than 2 million homes per year, saving households an average of $240 annually on energy bills. According to NEEA’s analysis, if all existing small standard electric resistance water heaters in the U.S. were replaced with those developed through the Hot Water Innovation Prize, NEEA estimates
- A combined $5.6 billion annual savings on energy bills
- 35 billion kilowatt-hours saved per year, equivalent to the energy needed to power more than 3 million homes
- Approximately 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided
Building the Path to Market
Unlike traditional product development, the competition brought manufacturers, energy-efficiency organizations, and testing laboratories together early in the process to begin laying the groundwork for future market implementation.
Following an initial qualification in late 2024 and a project plan review in early 2025, manufacturers participating in the Hot Water Innovation Prize developed product concepts into working prototypes, which then underwent laboratory testing and evaluation by an independent panel of seven judges.
Together, the judges represent decades of combined experience in water-heating technology and engineering, residential water-heater sales and installation, building science, utility energy-efficiency programs, and Market Transformation. They assessed each prototype’s energy performance, technical feasibility, installation practicality, and consumer value before selecting Midea as the winner. As the competition winner, Midea receives $175,000 to support continued product development.
NEEA and its partners are now working with utilities and other stakeholders to explore demonstrations and other market-development opportunities.
The Hot Water Innovation Prize is supported by a national coalition of organizations committed to expanding access to efficient water heating that includes ACEEE, Advanced Water Heating Initiative, Bonneville Power Administration, Ecotope, Efficiency Vermont, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership, New Buildings Institute, South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, and Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.
