Apr 2 2008
In the wake of the Department of Energy's announcement yesterday that creates ENERGY STAR® criteria for residential water heaters, GE® is proud to introduce two innovative products that will meet the new requirements. The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater and GE Tankless Gas Water Heater, both currently in development, represent the latest in a series of GE appliances designed to help energy efficiency in the home.
The DOE’s new ENERGY STAR program, for heat pump water heaters and tankless water heaters, is the result of many months of analysis of technologies, market opportunities and consumer interest.
GE was one of the key participants in the criteria-development process and urged the DOE to adopt aggressive standards for high-efficiency ENERGY STAR water heaters.
ENERGY STAR standards are important because second only to residential heating and cooling, home water heating is the number one residential energy consumption. Even as homes are designed to be more energy-efficient, the percentage of energy used in water heating is still a predominant factor.
View the DOE announcement at http://www.energy.gov/news/6134.htm
GE Hybrid Water Heaters
The new industry-exclusive GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed to provide the same hot water homeowners are accustomed to, but requires only about half the energy to produce it. For example, based on the same size standard tank water heater that uses approximately 4800 kWh per year, the new GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed to:
- Use less than half of that energy – or about 2300 kWh per year – a savings of approximately 2500 kWh per year.
- Save approximately $250 per year, and $2,500 savings in energy costs over a 10 year period based on 10 cents per kWh.
The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater combines energy-saving heating technology with traditional electric heating systems used in most standard water heaters on the market today without sacrificing the amount of hot water it can deliver.
This hybrid technology is designed to absorb heat in ambient air and transfer it into the water. Since it requires much less energy to absorb and transfer heat than it does to generate it – as a standard electric water heater would – the GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater provides the same amount of hot water while using less energy.
The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater features a user-friendly electronic control system that offers both simplicity and flexibility giving consumers as much or as little control of operating modes as they like: Set the thermostat and forget it or easily change the desired water temperature to maximize energy benefits.
Target availability is the fourth quarter of 2009. The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed for easy installation because it uses the existing water and electrical connections and occupies the same footprint as a traditional tank hot water heater making it perfect for new construction or a replacement upgrade.
GE Tankless Gas Water Heater Eliminates the Hassles
GE also has a solution for consumers who use gas water heating systems. The new GE Tankless Gas Water Heater provides hot water while using less energy than a standard tank gas water heater because it only activates when you need hot water and it immediately de-activates when you turn off the water. This demand-activated technology allows consumers to receive a continuous supply of hot water.
Demand-activated technology also translates into significant energy savings. A GE tankless gas water heater could help homeowners save up to 25 percent annually on water heating costs compared to the operating costs of a standard 40-gallon gas tank water heater.
Available May 1, 2008, the GE Tankless Gas Water Heater will be offered in two sizes (7.5-gallon-per-minute flow and 9.4 gallon-per-minute flow), indoor and outdoor. The 7.5-gallon-per-minute flow will be available for natural gas; the 9.4-gallon-per-minute flow will be available for natural gas or LP gas.