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DCSEU and Post Road Foundation Launch CarbonSmart Affordability Operations Pilot to Lower Energy Costs and Reduce Emissions for District Households
Washington, DC — The District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) and the Post Road Foundation have launched the CarbonSmart Affordability Operations (CSAO) Pilot, an innovative initiative designed to help District residents save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen grid reliability through smarter operation of heat pump water heaters.
The pilot will work with approximately 50 households, prioritizing low-to-moderate income, that already have energy-efficient electric heat pump water heaters supported through the DCSEU Affordable Home Electrification Program (AHEP) and residential energy and electrification rebates. By integrating demand flexibility technology developed by the Post Road Foundation, participating water heaters will adjust when they heat water based on grid conditions, shifting energy use away from periods of high demand and higher emissions while maintaining residents' access to hot water and preserving customer control of their equipment.
As electricity costs continue to rise and energy demand places increasing pressure on the regional electric grid, the CarbonSmart Pilot will test a new approach to making clean energy technologies work harder for residents. Rather than simply installing efficient equipment, the pilot will optimize how that equipment operates to maximize affordability and environmental benefits.
Through the pilot, participating households will receive up to $200 and help generate valuable data on how demand flexibility can reduce energy costs, improve grid efficiency, and support the District's climate goals.
“This pilot demonstrates how we can get more value from the clean energy technologies already installed in District homes,” said Ben Burdick, DCSEU Managing Director. “By making heat pump water heaters operate more strategically, we can help put money in the pockets of participating households, lower emissions, and support a more reliable electric grid. We’re proud to partner with the Post Road Foundation to test this innovative approach and explore how it can benefit more residents in the future.”
The pilot leverages the Post Road Foundation's "prices-from-devices" software platform, which coordinates distributed energy resources without relying on real-time utility dispatch signals. For heat pump water heaters, this means pre-heating water during periods when electricity is typically cleaner and less expensive and reducing operation during times of higher grid stress.
We are very excited to be launching this pilot with DCSEU,” said Seth Hoedl, President and Co-Founder of Post Road Foundation. “Shifting load from times of high cost and high emissions to times of low costs and low emissions is exactly what we built this technology for. The DCSEU is a wonderful partner to help us demonstrate the advantages of load shaping. We are especially grateful to be able to help low- and moderate-income families to manage their energy costs in this era of raising rates.”
The CarbonSmart Pilot builds on the Post Road Foundation's growing portfolio of demand flexibility initiatives, including the Maine Transactive Energy Pilot (MTEP) and Memphis Power with Responsibility (PWR), two efforts that use existing technologies such as heat pumps, water heaters, smart thermostats, batteries, and electric vehicles to better align energy use with grid needs and renewable energy availability. Through its partnership with the DCSEU, the Foundation is expanding this model to the District, making CSAO its second pilot with a state- or District-level Energy Efficiency Utility (EEU) and third pilot overall, demonstrating how energy efficiency programs can deliver additional affordability and emissions benefits through smarter operation of connected equipment.
The DCSEU is also exploring the inclusion of a limited battery storage demonstration within the CarbonSmart Pilot to evaluate how emissions-aware operation can be applied across additional distributed energy resource technologies.
About the DCSEU
The DCSEU helps DC residents and businesses use less energy and save money. Since 2011, the DCSEU has delivered financial incentives, technical assistance, and information to tens of thousands of District residents and businesses, helping to generate more than $2.2 billion in lifetime energy cost savings. Its work is building a brighter economic, environmental, and energy future for the District of Columbia.
About the Post Road Foundation
The Post Road Foundation develops and demonstrates innovative approaches to improve energy affordability, reduce emissions, and enhance grid reliability through consumer-centered distributed energy resource coordination and demand flexibility technologies.