Water Energy Savings Demand Response Program
Earn incentives for minor adjustments to your water energy use during periods of high demand.
Residential Water Energy Rebates
Earn incentives for minor adjustments to your water energy use during periods of high demand.
Program Introduction
Customer Eligibility
Enroll Now
Contact Us
What to Expect
Program Introduction
This program is also available in Virginia.
Water heating is the second largest energy expense in your home, accounting for about 18% of your utility bill. It’s easy to earn incentives on your water energy usage with the Residential Water Energy Demand Response Program from Dominion Energy Virginia.
You’ll help your community’s energy demand by allowing Dominion Energy to make minor, short-term adjustments to your heat pump water heater’s temperature settings during periods of high energy demand. You’ll always have control of your heat pump water heater, and can pause or opt out of participation at any time.
How it Works
- Purchase an eligible heat pump water heater and have it installed.
- Already own an eligible model? Skip to step 2.
- Enroll your heat pump water heater in the Water Energy Demand Response program to continue earning incentives each year after successful participation.
- Your heat pump water heater must participate in 75% of the event hours of a given demand response season to qualify for the incentive.
- Get rewarded with $40 after your first year of participation and $10 per year thereafter.
Energy-Efficient heat pump water heaters
The Water Energy Demand Response program is currently accepting enrollments on eligible heat pump water heaters.
Learn more about these energy-efficient heat pump water heaters below.
Heat Pump Water Heaters
Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another, rather than generating heat directly. Due to this design, heat pump water heaters can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters.
The Water Energy Savings Program offers a rebate up to $400 off the purchase of a new heat pump water heater that meets ENERGY STAR® performance requirements.
Customer Eligibility
Program Eligibility Requirements:
Participants must:
- Be a residential Dominion Energy Virginia customer.
- Live in a single-family detached residence, a single-family attached residence (such as a townhome), or a single-family manufactured home (such as a mobile home or modular home).
- Be responsible for the electric bill.
- Be the owner of the home or able to secure permission to participate.
- Have an eligible heat pump water heater with a Wi-Fi connection.
Please review additional requirements through the Program’s Terms and Conditions. By participating in this program, you are signifying your agreement to the Terms and Conditions of the Residential Water Energy Demand Response Program.
Enroll Now
Residential Water Energy Demand Response Program
Do you have an AO Smith heat pump water heater? Earn up to $40 for your first year of eligible participation and $10 per year thereafter with the Water Energy Demand Response Program.
What If I Don’t Have an AO Smith Heat Pump Water Heater?
If you don’t have an eligible AO Smith heat pump water heater, you can purchase one from a retailer of your choice and apply for a rebate. If your heat pump water heater’s brand is not listed, it is not currently eligible for program participation.
Contact Us
Questions or comments? Reach out to us using the form below and our team will follow up with you as soon as possible.
What to Expect
Here’s what you can expect when you enroll your heat pump water heater in the Water Energy Demand Response program:
- Make sure your heat pump water heater is connected to the internet* and activated with the manufacturer’s mobile or web application.
- Participation begins once your enrollment is approved, and your heat pump water heater is connected to the internet. This will be your anniversary date.
- There will be a maximum of 45 demand reduction events each year.
- Events will occur between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. during the program season (Monday through Sunday, excluding holidays).
- The average event should not exceed 3-4 hours.
- There will not be more than one event per day unless a standard event is followed by an emergency event.
- An emergency event could be called during a holiday. On rare occasions, Dominion Energy may announce an emergency event with little to no warning as a last resort to avoid rolling blackouts and significant electrical grid issues.
- If you do not wish to participate in an event, you can pause your participation through your heat pump water heater’s app. This will pause your enrollment for 72 hours. You can resume participation at any time.
- If you choose to opt out, your participation percentage will be impacted. This may affect your ability to receive your annual incentive. To qualify for your incentive, you must participate in at least 75% of the total event hours in a calendar season.
- Should your heat pump water heater remain offline for 7 consecutive days, you will receive a weekly email reminder to reconnect your heat pump water heater. If the heat pump water heater remains offline for 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks), it will be unenrolled from the program. You will need to re-enroll in the program to obtain the incentive and your participation percentage will be reset based on the new enrollment date.