A California window heat pump plan pays manufacturers and retailers 114.6 million dollars, not households, to get 120 volt units on shelves by 2030

What the California window heat pump plan pays for, and who gets the money

On November 20, 2025, the California Public Utilities Commission, the state body that regulates electric and gas utilities, approved decision D.25-11-023, a 114.6 million dollar budget for 2026 through 2031 to make the window heat pump and the plug in induction stove cheap in California. A heat pump is an electric machine that moves heat into a room in winter and out of it in summer. None of the money goes to a household. It goes to CalMTA, the California Market Transformation Administrator, set up by the commission to run these programs, which spends it on manufacturer design competitions, bonuses for retail sales staff, pooled orders from apartment building owners, and consumer education. The commission budget table gives 41.9 million dollars to room heat pumps and 32.4 million to induction cooking. All 5 commissioners signed.

Why a 120 volt heat pump needs no electrician

An ordinary wall outlet supplies 120 volts. A central heat pump or a standard induction range needs a 240 volt circuit, which means an electrician and sometimes a new electrical panel. The commission finds that 120 volt heating, cooling and cooking products need no wiring, panel or service upgrade, and calls the room heat pump particularly useful for tenants in apartments. It estimates 5.46 dollars of benefit for every dollar spent on room heat pumps through 2045, and finds that a household switching from gas to electricity could pay a higher bill in the short term.

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.

Feby Boediarto, energy justice manager at the California Environmental Justice Alliance. Source 3.

What a plug in heat pump costs today, and how it did in 45 California homes

Moncef Krarti, an engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, puts a window heat pump at 3,000 to 4,000 dollars, against as much as 10,000 dollars to install a conventional split system. A field study put 100 Gradient window heat pumps into 45 California households in Tracy and Fresno in 2023, installed by the researchers themselves, none a licensed technician, every unit on a standard 3 prong 120 volt outlet. After more than 6 months, households rated the units 3.78 out of 5 and over 75% would recommend them, while up to 35% reported a draft. In the older Fresno homes, many had only ungrounded 2 prong outlets near the window, so some units ran on a rated extension cord from a grounded outlet farther away and some windows could not be used at all.

The induction half, and the price gap it is meant to close

An induction stove heats the pan with a magnetic field rather than a flame. CalMTA states that gas ranges hold more than a 70% share in California homes, and that induction delivers about 85% of the energy it uses to the food against about 32% for gas. The 120 volt battery stoves from Copper and Impulse start at about 6,000 and 7,000 dollars, while a top rated gas range sells for under 1,000 dollars.

The commission approved the induction half only conditionally, ordering CalMTA to narrow it to 120 volt stoves, with or without a battery, by April 3, 2026, and CalMTA states the revised plan was approved in May 2026.

Some of our interventions will focus on training sales associates to understand the benefits of induction and encourage customers to buy it.

Lynette Curthoys, who leads CalMTA. Source 3.

When cheap 120 volt products are expected, and the precedent CalMTA is copying

Spending is front loaded, 22.5 million dollars in 2026 falling to 15.7 million in 2031. Canary Media reports that the manufacturer challenge is expected to launch in mid 2027 and that CalMTA hopes affordable plug in heat pumps and induction stoves will be widely available by 2030. The model is New York, where a 2021 challenge promised to buy 24,000 units, Gradient and Midea won, and the order later rose to 30,000.