Rheem Water Heating teams with Portland General Electric to launch the new ENERGY STAR^®-listed HP-50 Heat Pump Water Heater at a special outdoor educational session for local plumbing contractors

More than 125 plumbing contractors recently braved chilly early-morning temperatures for an in-depth briefing on the new RheemHP-50 Heat Pump Water Heaterat the World Trade Center in downtown Portland. Held on the WTC Plaza, the three-hour outdoor workshop was part of a daylong “Pacific Northwest HP-50 Launch Event” on October 28, held for the plumbing trade, regional electric utilities, energy-efficiency organizations and local media.

The three-hour contractor workshop kicked off with a breakfast buffet at 6:00 a.m., as trades people streamed into the Plaza for a close look at the two Rheem HP-50 demonstration models on display. Installed by Curt Cheever, president of the Plumbing, Heating, Cooling Contractor Association of Oregon, one of the units was generating plenty of steaming hot water onsite, despite ambient temperatures that were struggling to reach 40°F.  

The WTC is headquarters for Portland General Electric (PGE), an electric utility that has served northwest Oregon since 1889. PGE co-hosted the launch event with Rheem Water Heating, which recently became the first manufacturer to announce delivery of a fully integrated, high-efficiency, air-source heat pump water heater to both the plumbing wholesale andthe utility channels. Originally unveiled in mid-September, the new air-source HP-50Heat Pump Water Heateroffers an Energy Factor (EF) of 2.0, or more than twice the efficiency of a standard electric storage water heater.

Helping to organize the event and recruit attendees were Rheem’s local sales agent Alliance Sales Co., represented by Ian Johnson,Whit Hall and Fred

Allsup. Several local Rheem distributors also assisted, including George Morlan Plumbing Supply, Keller Supply, MAR-HY Distributors, and Standard Supply.

Intended for residential applications, both new construction and drop-in replacement of existing units, the HP-50 has a storage capacity of 50 gallons and meets the qualifications for an ENERGY STAR^® listing. Its energy-saving design will help a family reduce its carbon footprint by nearly two tons annually.

In addition, the unit qualifies for a federal tax credit of 30% of the installed cost (up to $1,500), as well as many state and utilityrebates and incentives. All of these combine to shorten the payback period on the homeowner’s investment.

Welcome to the future: Joe Barra, PGE Director of Customer Energy Resources, led off the morning program by welcoming attendees to the “future of electric water heating,” noting that the new HP-50 “bears little resemblance to the water heaters of the past.

“I cannot compliment Rheem enough for stepping up with this product,” he said. “As I look back on the water heaters I’ve had in the homes I’ve owned, they have always worked and been pretty reliable. But they weren’t as efficient as they might have been. This new unit is extremely efficient — twice that of its predecessors. In some respects, it makes better use of energy than any water heater that has come before it.”

Rapid payback on investment: Rheem Product Manager Jeffrey Haney followed Barra to the podium with a lengthy presentation on the product itself, including key features and benefits, how heat pump water heating technology differs fromthat ofa conventional electric unit, and practical installation advice.

Haney also contrasted the dramatic difference in operating costs for a homeowner in PGE’s trading area: $199 for the HP-50 versus $443 for a standard 50-gallon electric water heater.By combining the federal tax credit with the $400 tax credit from the Oregon Department of Energy, a resident should recoup the additional outlay for installing the HP-50 in only 10 months, according to Haney.
 
“These local tax credit programs help make the HP-50 a more affordable product for your customers,” Haney added. “What’s more, once payback is reached, that homeowner continues to benefit from the HP-50’s lower operating cost, saving as much as $244 annually.”

John Karasaki, P.E., who heads PGE’s Heat Pump Rebate Program, reinforced Haney’s affordability message: “The potential to cut electric water heating bills in half should get you and your customers very excited about this water heater. A payback of even one or two years will be a powerful message to carry into the marketplace. Which is why I expect tradesmen like yourselves will not find it difficult to sell this new product.”

Enhancements to come: The morning session closed with an extended question-and-answer session led by Brad Campbell, P.E., Director of Advanced Research and Development Technology at Rheem Water Heating headquarters in Montgomery, Ala. This segment ran approximately 20 minutes, after whichmany attendees remained on scenefor another half hour or so for an even closer look at the two display units and to ask more questions.

In closing the program, Campbell thanked attendees for their time, interest and, above all, questions and input regarding the HP-50. “We’re just getting the thought process started with this technology,” Campbell remarked, “and I promise you there are iterations to come involving higher storage capacities, higher kilowatt-hour inputs and even faster first-hour recoveries.Heat pump water heating is a technology whose time has come,” he concluded, “and this is a product that is going to be in our professional lives for the foreseeable future, as we work to maximize water heater performance, energy efficiency and customer payback.”

For more information on the Rheem HP-50 Heat Pump Water Heater, please visit http://www.rheemhpwh.com.

NOTE: Publication-quality versions of the images shown in this press release can be downloaded at the following location on the web:
http://rheem.oreilly-depalma.com/2009/rheem-hp-50-water-heater-debuts-pacnw.shtml

About Rheem Manufacturing Company
Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 82nd year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of high-quality residential and commercial heating and cooling systems;tank, tankless, solar, and heat pump water heaters; swimming pool heaters and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design, and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling, and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) and sponsors the KHI No. 33 car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, KHI’s No. 33 truck in the Camping World Truck Series and RCR’s No. 29 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.