AO Smith Vertex Water Heater Review

In this video we are reviewing a recent install of an AO Smith Vertex Hot Water Heater.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Hot Water Heater
• High Efficiency Construction
• Hot Water Heater Review
• AO Smith Vertex
• Tankless Water Heater
• Heimsath Architects

[Resistoon]

And how much do these 96% efficient gas water heaters cost?

[MattRisinger]

@Resistoon They are comparable in cost to a tankless water heater. One thing to remember, these are condensing units so you need a place to drain the condensate or install a condensate pump. -Matt

[HomeEnergyNow]

300 sunny days a year why not passive solar with a cheapo 50-100 gallon gas water heater. If you could get that cheapo water heater to run 1/4 of the time, it would only cost 4$/month to heat water. I don't get the use of photovoltaic before something as simple as say an evacuated tube solar panel but I am not a solar guy, or plumber. What is your take on a heat pump water heater used to help cool the home while heating water?

[MattRisinger]

@HomeEnergyNow I think solar hot water can make sense but if hot water is only costing you $16/month it hardly makes sense to do solar hot water. That's the case for my house anyhow. My gas bill is $15-20/month and that's for a tankless hot water heater, gas cooking, & gas dryer. Solar hot water has alot of moving parts and annual maintenance plus freeze protection issues. Solar electric is solid state and should be pretty free of issues for it's 25+ year lifespan. Matt

[MattRisinger]

@HomeEnergyNow Forgot to mention I love the heat pump water heaters but you need to find the space for them. They need a 10'x10' room at a minimum. If gas is available it's hard to see other hot water choices as viable. Matt

[Dieselgeek02]

Great video, Matt. It's nice to see someone thinking outside the box in an industry that often is slow to embrace the new.

[MattRisinger]

@Dieselgeek02 Thanks for your complement! I think that efficient water heating is really a place for improvement in most homes in America. Just putting in a tankless water heater isn't enough. You really need to plan for hot water delivery in a high performance home, AND you need a plumber who can execute an installation in a professional manner. Special thinks to my amazing plumbers! -Matt Risinger

[lexichronicle2]

@dogfan4lyfe Our house originally had a gravity fed tank. The plumber pulled it and stuck in a first generation tankless. It could barely handle ONE shower with no one else home. If the washer came on, someone flushed a toilet or turned a tap on, it'd go nuts; scalding / freezing. The mornings were ridiculous. Another plumber then put in a pressurised 100l tank. Expensive circle! Tankless will always suffer the problem of it's cold line loosing pressure, but a cold feed tank is easier than a hot

[MattRisinger]

@66cool99 Indeed! Thanks for checking it out. I think our houses have a ton of improvement for efficiency in hot water distribution, this AO Smith Vertex is a great product. Matt Risinger

[66cool99]

Cool!