Free Heat Pumps in L.A. Mobile-Home Park Cut Bills and Improve Health During Dangerous Heat

After months of living with a failing window air conditioner and unreliable hot water, a San Fernando Valley mobile-home resident received full replacements for her water heater and heating-and-cooling equipment at no cost when a contractor knocked on her door. The upgrades were made possible through state incentives designed to accelerate the adoption of electric heat-pump technology.

For residents in some of Los Angeles's hottest neighborhoods, these changes can be life-changing. Beyond comfort, the new systems have reduced utility bills, improved indoor air quality, and made homes more habitable during extreme heat events.

Maria Franco, a mobile-home resident, described the difficulty of losing her job and enduring six months without dependable hot water: "I was depressed. I was in shock." Relief arrived when Ben Shamoon of home-upgrade company Bryge began visiting mobile-home parks to offer state-incentivized heat-pump water heaters and combined heating-and-cooling systems. Many residents qualified as low-income, allowing incentives to cover equipment, labor, permits, and installation in full.

Program Reach and Results

Bryge has completed most of the nearly 1,500 TECH-supported heat-pump HVAC and water-heater installations in California mobile homes; Shamoon completed 38 projects in Franco's park alone. The statewide TECH Clean California program has supported more than 75,000 heat-pump installations across a variety of housing types.

The upgrades produced rapid, measurable savings for recipients. Franco reported her gas bill fell from about $40–$50 a month to roughly $10, and her electricity bill dropped from about $150 to near $80. For someone living on approximately $1,000 a month in Social Security benefits, those reductions are substantial.

Health and Environmental Benefits

Because heat pumps run on electricity rather than natural gas, they can reduce local pollution — a benefit that grows as California's electricity grid becomes cleaner. Heat pumps also tend to improve indoor air quality by eliminating combustion in the home.

Esperanza Sanchez, a resident of Blue Star Mobile Home Park in Sylmar, said she had stopped using her gas heater because it "stung my nose and I couldn't stand it." After switching to a heat-pump system, she reported her respiratory issues disappeared.

Ethan Elkind, a UC Berkeley lawyer and policy researcher, noted: "It's a public health thing. It's an equity thing."

Scaling Up: Funding and Financing

Residents affected by the 2016 San Fernando Valley gas leak are expected to become eligible for about $30 million in additional incentives from a separate settlement starting later this summer. Still, experts warn that public funding alone may not be sufficient to electrify every low-income household.

One proposed path is to combine state subsidies with no-interest private financing so homeowners can repay upgrades over time through energy bill savings. This approach can be particularly compelling when an existing air conditioner or water heater is already near failure, because immediate replacement reduces or eliminates the need for additional upfront spending.

For Franco, the benefits were immediate and tangible: reliable hot showers, faster cooling, and meaningful relief from dangerous summer heat. "That first time using the shower was beautiful," she said. "When I needed help the most, it came. If it weren't for them, we'd be suffering from the heat."

Note: This story highlights a successful local initiative in Los Angeles but reflects broader policy discussions about equitable access to clean, efficient home heating and cooling across the state.