A 1980s, 39-unit residential building in Vancouver became the first in BC to install a SANCO₂ heat pump “Droplet” system, replacing gas-fired domestic hot water and achieving near-zero carbon operations. Delivered as one of seven projects under the Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator (RARA) program, with funding from the City of Vancouver, CleanBC, and BC Hydro, the project combined innovation with real-world scalability. This session explores how a DHW electrification retrofit was paired with a BC Hydro demand-side management pilot, enabling load shifting through integrated controls. Learn what it took to deliver this project in an occupied building using a streamlined design-build approach and what the system actually delivered. Attendees will leave with a practical, proven case study to support heat pump water heating in their own retrofit projects.