Kern County is building the heat pump workforce of the future

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OPINION — One of California’s most surprising clean energy affordability breakthroughs isn’t unfolding in San Francisco or Los Angeles. It’s happening in hot, dry rural Kern County, where local contractors have turned the region into one of the state’s most productive markets for heat pump water heaters — efficient electric appliances that cut pollution and lower energy bills.

According to new data from TECH Clean California, 45 local contractors have completed more than 1,790 heat pump water heater installations in Kern County. On a per-capita basis, that’s roughly 600% times the installation rate of Los Angeles County contractors. The median project cost homeowners just $130 after incentives.

Some paid nothing at all. In a region often left out of conversations about California’s clean energy transition, these projects are helping households struggling with high energy bills access state of the art technologies that lower bills—while developing a workforce that can install them at lower cost.

Kern County’s success didn’t happen by accident. It happened because California developed a successful program — TECH Clean California — that invests in both sides of the equation: homeowners and contractors. And it’s a microcosm of the benefits happening across the state.

Through TECH Clean California, households across the state received thousands of dollars in incentives that made heat pumps more affordable. At the same time, contractors received training, technical support, and access to new equipment that helped them build expertise in a rapidly growing market.

However, the program that helped create this success story may not survive the budget year. Without additional state funding, TECH Clean California will be forced to shut down, halting one of the nation’s most effective heat pump deployment and workforce development programs just as it is delivering measurable results. That would mean fewer opportunities for contractors, fewer options for consumers, and slower progress toward lowering household energy costs.

The experience in Kern County shows why preserving this momentum matters.

Heat pumps are becoming increasingly popular because they offer a practical solution to challenges many Californians face every day. They provide highly efficient heating and cooling while reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution. For families in the Central Valley facing triple-digit summer temperatures and rising utility costs, they can also lower long-term energy expenses.

New TECH Clean California data reveals that households replacing a furnace and existing air conditioner with a heat pump saved an average of $304 annually on utility bills. In high heat areas, the savings can reach over $500 a year because of the energy efficiency of heat pumps compared to old air conditioners. Homeowners who upgraded from a gas water heater to a heat pump water heater saved on average $97 annually.

For households that previously lacked air conditioning, replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump increased annual energy costs by a median of just $35—about $3 per month—while providing reliable cooling during increasingly dangerous summer heat waves. In Kern County, where summer temperatures regularly top 110 degrees, access to cooling technologies that households can afford to run can be lifesaving.

Just as importantly, the program is helping transform California’s contractor workforce– investing heavily in workforce development, supporting training centers across the state and providing contractors with hands-on experience installing heat pump technologies.

The results are visible. Between 2022 and 2024, the share of surveyed TECH-enrolled contractors who reported gaining experience with heat pump water heaters with no previous knowledge grew 12%.

As contractor expertise grows, costs are falling. TECH’s analysis found that projects in counties with the largest contractor networks cost an average of $1,031 less than projects in counties with smaller contractor participation. Greater competition, stronger supply chains, and more installer experience all help drive down costs for consumers.

This is what market transformation looks like: skilled workers gaining new business opportunities, consumers gaining access to better technology, and costs declining as adoption grows.

Since 2021, TECH Clean California has supported more than 80,000 heat pump HVAC and water heating projects across 54 counties. Customer satisfaction remains remarkably high, with 90% of heat pump water heater customers and 91% of heat pump HVAC customers reporting satisfaction with their equipment.

Yet without additional funding, this progress could come to a halt just as the program is delivering measurable results across California.

California often talks about creating the jobs of the future. In Kern County, those jobs are already being created. The question now is whether state leaders will continue investing in a model that is working.

Chris Burmester is the chief strategy officer of Energy Solutions and the board chair of the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council.