Back in 1959, General Electric became the sponsor of the television game show
GE College Bowl, which pitted teams in a fast-paced quiz show.
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 |
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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.
