GE’s Consumer & Industrial division announced today that it will make its energy efficient hybrid electric water heaters in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Company’s Appliance Park facility — creating about 400 jobs. The new hybrid patented technology will make GE the first manufacturer to introduce a water heater that will meet the new 2009 Department of Energy ENERGY STAR standards for heat pump hot water heaters, putting GE well ahead of the competition.
The decision to locate production in Louisville came as a result of cooperative efforts, investments and incentives involving GE, the union, and state and local officials. GE’s planned manufacturing facility also has the potential to create 1,600 incremental “green” jobs over time for suppliers and contract partners and generate other positive financial impacts in Louisville and across the U.S.
“We made the decision to build these products in Louisville because of the strong support from our state and local governments and the cooperative spirit of our Union leadership and our employees at Appliance Park. This clearly indicates GE’s vote of confidence in this facility and our employees as a place where we can invest in our future, continuing our 50+ year history,” said GE Consumer & Industrial President and CEO James Campbell. “Leadership from Governor Steve Beshear, Mayor Jerry Abramson, IUE-CWA President Jerry Carney and many others will help rebuild America’s manufacturing base, create jobs and enable innovative, energy-efficient American-made products to be competitive in the marketplace.”
Conventional water heaters are the second largest energy user in the home and all home appliances make up about 85% of the home’s energy consumption. The new GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed to use only about half the energy of conventional water heaters. Based on the standard 50-gallon tank water heater that uses approximately 4800 kWh per year, GE’s heater is designed to use only about 2300 kWh per year — a savings of approximately 2500 kWh per year. It will also save approximately $250 per year – that’s $2,500 savings in energy costs over a 10-year period based on 10 cents per kWh.
According to the Department of Energy, if just 10% of the nation’s 4.8 million electric water heater shipments were heat pump water heaters with an Energy Factor of 2.0 instead of conventional models with an Energy Factor at the Federal standard, the aggregate energy savings would amount to nearly 1.3 billion kWh per year.
The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater combines energy-saving heat-pump technology with traditional electric heating systems used in most conventional 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 this requires much less energy than the energy used to generate radiant heat — as used in a conventional electric water heater — the GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is more economical to operate.
* Read the announcement
* Read the Louisville Courier-Journal’s story
* Hear KY Congressman John Yarmuth’s remarks delivered at the Capitol
GE Theater’s lost Zsa Zsa hit
The ‘Warbirds’ of Oshkosh
GE is an respectful company and I am interesting in Ge’s operation and integrity
To Mr. Zhang:
I’m assuming you never had worked for the company? Work at GE and see how they treat you….Integrity went out the window a long time ago!!!
Great news for Kentucky! Yee haw!
Your advertisment for The new GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater makes a lot of claims that in the face of the total home heating costs which will increase as the air from the home provides the energy to reduce the consumption of power at the hot water heater doesn’t add up. Please come clean about stealing heat from the home.
Does anyone have any idea what this will sell for?What kind of a warranty comes with this unit. If the tank starts leaking in 5 years can the heat pump and controls be transferred to another tank?
What stores will be selling this product? Home Depot and others?
I was brought up on G.E. products. My Dad, passed away last June, worked for G.E. in Bridgeport Connecticut until he retired when they closed the plant down. No matter where I lived I bought G.E. This last move I bought a G.E. refrigerator and G.E. had to replace this model 3 times and it still is not a A one refrigerator. I will not invest in an other one. Sorry, but I hope the water heater is more reliable than the appliance’s G.E. is turning out now. Will they be electric or gas run?
Do you suppose that if G.E. was AMERICAN MADE we could get a better product. Lets hope so. My Dad bought stock all the years he worked for G.E. and believed in the company. Greed is the number one down fall of all good companies.
I have spouted off, wish you a lot of luck with the new water heater and am so glad it will be American Made. I hope it is not just assembled in America but total made.
Chalk another one up for GE. Last week they announce a new R&D Center here in MI; now more jobs for KY. Thanks for investing in the US!! Now if the stock price would just go up.
I’ve got stock in GE so I have a vested interest in their success, but that being said, I’ve never been impressed with their home appliances. The quality just isn’t where it should be when compared to other comparable brands. I understand their desire to offer affordable products, but their stuff has always seemed "cheap" rather than good for the money. Anyway, I hope the smart grid stuff, aviation and medical business, and even the water heater drive the stock price back up. My greed needs to be fed just as much as the corporate greed.
I worked at GE’s research labs in England back in the 1950’s. The only product of their’s I’ve ever bought was an electric kettle, 40 years ago. It’s been used every day since and apart from replacing the cord half a dozen times it’s as good as new; remarkable quality! The heat pump aided water heater sounds great. When will it be in production and what’s the projected MSRP?
Roger.
The new GE electric water heater: My annual bill to heat water is about $400, hard to believe it will save me $250 off of that bill. What is the power consumption of the pump and electronics to operate the heater. If the heater is in a cold basement…what’s the point. How many years will it take to recover the investment? If it’s more than 15 years I probably won’t be here… so once again…what’s the point
We are building an energy self sufficinet, research facility, (SERF) at Frostburg State University. The 4,000 s.f. complex will not be connected to the grid. We are interested in testing your hot water heater and would be interested in using a geothermal version, i.e. a water to water heat pump driven from the geothermal wells or our water from the solar panels.
We are also interested in a conversation regarding the weather channel and its ability to provide specific digital seven day forcast. The SERF uses significan heat retention using excessive mass; hence, the building has a seven day heat cycle. It we new more about the upcoming weather, then the building could make intelligent decisions about how to better conserve energy.
Please have someone contact me.
I READ ABOUT ALL THE GOOD THINGS GE IS DOING NOW THE HOT WATER HEATER THATS GREAT .WHAT ABOUT OUR STOCK ???
Thanks everyone for all your great comments and questions about GE’s new Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater. Please see below for some responses I hope will help answer your questions.
Thanks,
Megan Robison
GE Consumer & Industrial
David — After reading your question, I believe the question you are asking is as follows: Since a heat pump water heater cools the air surrounding the water heater, doesn’t this make the furnace work harder to heat the home in the winter? Therefore, much of the energy saved in heating the water is then offset by the increased energy consumed by the furnace to heat the air in the home.
The answer to that is sort of, but the impact over the course of the year is not very significant. Here’s why. Usually the water heater is in an unconditioned area of the home such as a basement, garage, or attic. By unconditioned, I mean that the furnace does not use this room of the house as a source of supply air to the furnace. Therefore, since the cooled air is not being supplied to the furnace, the furnace does not have any additional heating load requirements for the air/home.
In the case where the water heater is located in a conditioned room, such as a laundry room or interior closet space, where the furnace does draw upon supply air, then a portion of the cooler air would be supplied to the furnace in winter increasing the heating demand on the furnace. However the alternate is also true. In the summer, this cooler air would supplement the air conditioner allowing the air conditioner to work easier in the summer. Therefore, for the scenario where the water heater is located in a conditioned space, the cool air supplied by the water heater has a beneficial cooling and dehumidifying effect in summer, which is somewhat offset by the winter heating effect. However the overall effect to the annual energy consumption of the home is minimal.
Jack – The estimated retail price is $1,499-$1,699. The product has a limited one-yr parts and labor warranty, and a limited 10-yr parts warranty. Consumer should read the warranty for full details. The heat pump cannot be transferred to a new tank. Retail and wholesale locations for this product are still being determined, but you can visit http://www.geappliances.com to find out more information as the product becomes available.
Patricia – I am sorry to hear not only about your dad but also about your unpleasant experience as well. I am not sure if you called our customer service department or if the issue was ever resolved, but if not, please go to http://www.geappliances.com and we will assist you in getting in contact with the correct person.
Our new Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater, which is electric, will be manufactured in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Company’s Appliance Park facility – creating about 400 jobs. The new patented hybrid technology will make GE the first manufacturer to introduce a water heater that will meet the new 2009 Department of Energy ENERGY STAR standards for hot water heaters, putting GE well ahead of the competition.
Roger – That sounds very interesting and I am glad to hear you had such a great experience with your GE product. MSRP is $1,499 to $1,699. Production is expected to start in Louisville in the second half of 2011. However, this product will be produced by an established GE supplier prior to that time and available to utilities and home builders in the fourth quarter of 2009.The projected MSRP is $1,499 to $1,699, but when you combine the available tax incentives, product rebates, and annual energy savings, the product could pay for itself in a few years, based on the rebates available in your area.
Patrick – At the time you message was posted, we were running some additional tests and found that the GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater has better energy efficiency and savings results than originally stated. The new information is calculated below.
Savings will vary by household configuration and household usage. Consumers can save approximately $320 per year*—that’s $3,200 savings in energy costs over a 10year period based on 10.65 cents per kWh. The heat pump will operate in temperatures down to 45F. Below 45F the product will operate as a standard electric water heater. The projected MSRP is $1,499 to $1,699, but when you combine the available tax incentives, product rebates, and annual energy savings, the product could pay for itself in just a few years, based on the rebates available in your area.
*Based on DOE test procedure and comparison of a 50-gallong standard electric tank water heater using 4881 kWh per year vs. the GE heat pump water heater using 1856 kWh per year.
To Megan Robison
Looks like a great product. As a retired GE employee, here are (opportunities for GE) and my concerns before I would buy one.
What is recovery rate, ie heating rate vs standard electrical elements, if it is too slow, this will seriously affect product acceptance.
What is required maintenance costs/year, assume there are filters to replace etc ? 10 year savings may offset, but I would want to know what annual maintenance costs are.
Where can we see specs for the different models ?
I was contemplating going to a tankless water heater. Currently live in a condo in the South so GE’s solution is attractive on paper, and better than tankless, since 90% of the time, we are in A/C condition, so removing heat from ambient air to heat water is a win/win. How much better ? How do you compare ? Tankless you dont have heat losses from the tank like you do with standard water heaters, but tankless also draw huge instantaneous power, so if they become popular, this could be a major issue for utilities, since they could not control this random load. This should be a huge selling point for GE’s solution with utilities. Also tankless are costly to retrofit, I estimate $2200 to install an $800 unit, since all the rewiring requires #6 AWG, and new breakers. However, for new homes, Tankless costs drop so are more competitive
Last point, it would seem advantageous to combine the new GE heater with an internal (condo) A/C unit, all that heat being exhausted to the outside, or to water cooling tanks, why not heat domestic water instead. What are your plans there ?
Dear Megan,
Your heat pump unit sounds great especially since I live in Hawaii – warm and humid. However, my old electric water heater just died. I am trying to do the most sensible thing. Home Depot carries GE appliances here. Realistically, will your initial fall 2009 supplier ship to any distributor(like Home Depot)in hawaii before 2010 or 2011? I don’t think I can wait 6 months to 2 years to have hot water again. Thanks very much.
I live in the cold Northeast and will soon need a new electric hot water heater tank located in my basement. The temperature down there is only about 68 in the summer and in the 40’s-50’s the rest of the year. You state the heat pump works down to 45, but is there a rate of diminishing returns as the air temperature in the basement decreases? That is does this heat pump hybrid make sense for the many households like mine? Can you give me actual projected energy savings?
Hi Dorothy – thanks for your question. The first shipment of GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters will be in Hawaii by December through Servco.
Megan Robison
Community Relations Manager
GE Consumer & Industrial
Nick,
Thanks so much for your comments about the new GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater. I have answered your questions below. You can also visit http://www.geappliances.com/products/water/heat-pump-water-heater/index.htm for more information about this exciting new product.
Thanks, Megan
Megan Robison
Community Relations Manager
GE Consumer & Industrial
Q. What is the recovery rate?
A. The product has standard electric heating elements just like a standard electric water heater. In hybrid mode, the unit uses the heat pump as the primary source of heat to restore water temperature, but if the consumer uses a significant amount of hot water the unit will automatically energize the standard electric elements to ensure the consumer does not run out of hot water and to promote a faster recovery of the water temperature. First Hour Recovery (FHR) in hybrid mode is 63 gph.
Q. What are the required maintenance costs per year?
A. Annual maintenance costs for the GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater are the same as for a standard electric water heater.
Q. Where can we see specs for the different models?
A. Initially, we will only offer the 50-gallon model. The specifications for this model can be found on our website at http://www.geappliances.com/products/water/heat-pump-water-heater/hewh_prelim_spec.pdf
Q. How does a tankless electric water heater compare to the GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater?
A. Tankless electric water heaters for whole home applications are very rare because of the extremely large electricity draw you mention. Additionally, these units still use standard resistance type methods to heat the water, so at best, the Energy Factor will be slightly less than 1.0. The GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater has an energy factor of 2.35, and is therefore, more than twice as efficient. The best way to answer your question specifically would be to check the Energy Guide labels on the two units. The Energy Guide label on the GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater places the estimated annual cost to operate at $198 per year.
Q. What are GE’s plans to combine the new GE Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater with an internal A/C unit?
A. We’re considering this as a next generation option.
Where and when will this product be available in North Carolina? I will be in the market for a replacement water heater very soon.
Thanks.
Pat
I live in northeast Ohio. I am in the market for a water heater and was considering a tankless solution(I already bought the an upgraded breaker panel and required wire) when I stumbled upon your heat pump water heater. I know the product comes out next month, but when and where will it be available in northeast Ohio area since I am really interested? I see Rheem has a model already out and can be purchased are plumbing supply stores right now. Your help is appreciated.
Catalin
When and where will I be able to purchase a unit in Hickory, Gastonia, or Charlotte NC?
What type of warranty is there on the tank? The site is a bit vague on this.
I live in a condo and have my water heater in a closet in my living room. I would like to know what the noise decibel is or a comparable noise this hybrid water heater would make.
I would hate to have it installed later to find out it makes a lot of noise in my living room closet.
I am also curious to know if you have anymore data on how much it cools and dehumidifies the surrounding air. I live in Hawaii and this would be perfect year round for my condo.
Thank you for your response.
Can you tell me how the annual cost of your new hybrid unit would compare to gas hot water heaters? Also, we have 2 40-gal gas units. Would a 50-gal hybrid electric be a viable replacement? Gas obviously recovers more rapidly.
Looked at this model at Lowe’s on 2/12/10. Label says it is made in China. Did GE change its mind about manufacturing these in USA?
i live in northern michigan and heat my house with a ground water heat pump equiped with hot water add on will this new system be compatable and work together,what about cost savings,pay back .thank you
When will i be able to buy one thats made in america. I saw one but its made in china and i wont buy that one thank you.
A standard electric hot water heater begins to leak after about six years. I believe this is due to rust.
How long will the porcelin lined unit expect to operate before leaking. Replacing a $400 unit every six years in one thing, replacing a $1500 unit every six years is quite another?
How does the annual operating cost of your new unit compare with a natural gas operated on-demand unit?
thanks.
I have a GE Hybrid water heater in my basement, after using water for a shower the heat pump seems to run an excessively long amount of time. I have out a heater in the basement, but it still seems to run about 2 hours at a time.
When do we get answers to privious comments?
Hello! I am interested in the tank life also it becomes more important as the price goes up. I am perplexed by the made in China comment. I also want to buy made in America! Are the refrigerant lines inside the tank or wound on the outside? Where are the tanks made and who makes them? As a licensed EPA technician can I buy a replacement tank assembly? Just the tank assembly without the controls or heat pump equipment. What refrigerant does this system use?
Thank you
Joe
I am interested in this product but I do have question about the energy savings if the water heater is installed in a basement attic (unheated). Since I live in the pacific Northwest, the temperature of an unheated basement will be low. Will I get much energy savings if the surrounding temperature of the heater is low? What is the surrounding temperature should this water heater operates to see any energy savings benefits. I can’t find any information on this.
To Megan Robison, Our Ge Hybrid water heater was installed today by Lowes. After the installer left I found part of the box and it states “made in China”. I thought I was buying a product made in America,(”Our new Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater, which is electric, will be manufactured in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Company’s Appliance Park facility – creating about 400 jobs.”), What gives???