President Obama has told us that insulation is sexy—but what about water heaters? If you’d like to add an efficient, hydronics-ready water heater to the mix of products your shop sells and supports, check out this hot performer:
The Vertex 100 from Tennessee-based A.O. Smith Water Products
http://www.hotwater.com/products/residential/rg-vertex100.html
- 96% thermal efficiency
- True sealed combustion for greater efficiency and safety
- Accurate, easy-to-use digital controls
- Higher output for combined hydronics
- Side taps for combined hydronics
- Significantly quieter than competing 90% efficient water heaters
- Significantly less expensive than competing 90%+ water heaters with stainless steel tanks
- Provides a nice mix of 50 gallons of hot water storage and 100,000 BTU/h of burner power, thereby reducing standby losses incurred with very large tanks and natural draft flues
- Accommodates high hot water demands without requiring a high-capacity gas line to supply 250,000 BTU/h as is typical of tankless water heaters
Our take: This is a great product for the price point, efficiency level and footprint.
Note: Recurve does not endorse this or any other product. We encourage qualified Home Performance contractors to gain hands-on experience with products profiled in this newsletter before making their own assessments.