More than 50 years later and long since the GE College Bowl went off the air, GE is promoting its Hybrid Electric Water Heater through a sweepstakes. The grand prize is a trip for four to a national park, and there are weekly giveaways of gift cards. To enter, you have to answer a question about the $1,699 hybrid water heater.
Let's just say it's pretty much impossible to submit an incorrect answer to questions related to tax credits and other incentives for energy-efficient water heaters and this hybrid heater's potential savings over a conventional storage-tank water heater.
While we haven't tested the GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater, for our report on tankless water heaters we did find that tankless models and the A.O. Smith Vertex GPHE-50 high-efficiency water heater were more efficient than conventional storage-tank water heaters. But their higher retail and/or installation costs require long payback periods that don't necessarily make them more economical in the long run. If you're considering a solar water heater, read our October 2009 report on solar water heaters.
Some easy ways to save on hot water are to take shorter showers, install a lower-flow showerhead, and run a full load of dishes instead of washing them by hand.
If you're in the market for a new water heater, be sure you get a properly sized unit by using our water-heater-sizing calculator, and then figure out whether it's more efficient to take a shower or a bath.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook
Essential information: Check out our buyer's guide to water heaters and join in on the discussions about water heaters in our forums. Visit our Energy Saving & Green Living guide for details on other money- and energy-saving products and projects.
Why doesnt GE use the same type thing on their trains, like Hydrogen run engines.................???????????????
Am I missing something or is this GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater less efficient overall than advertised. It's basically a heat pump that heats the water; but it "pumps" the heat from the room to the water so it effectively cools the room. All the heat transferred to the water must be made up by the building's heating system. So the "efficiency" is really in the (probable) lower cost of fuel for the building's heating system than the electrical energy that would normally be used for the hot water heater. And since only about 2/3 of the heat transferred to the water comes from the room air (the other 1/3 is from the electricity used to drive the heat pump) the savings are further reduced. A true calculation of any savings would probably show the payback period much longer than the life of the unit.
Well we nee the proof not just theoretically, and I hope GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater can give service as well as their advertisement guarantee.
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http://www.moreheaters.com
I have been keeping an eye on the GE Hybrid Water heater as it was being developed and written about, and I think the concept is a great one. In my case, I would have it taking heat from my basement and putting it into my water, while cooling my basement some as a side effect. If people come to visit I can tell it to use regular resistance heating too. It would tend to dehumidify the basement too. However, I am hesitant to buy because I prefer to read what consumer reports testing says whenever possible. Any plans to test it or at least study and comment on without testing? I think it is unique enough that it should not have to wait for a couple of years until you test all hot water heaters again.
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