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Jul 10, 2023

How A.O. Smith Has Fostered A Culture Of Innovation For Nearly 150 Years

Home with modern exterior Picture this: You step into the shower and turn the knob to your usual temperature. You proceed to scroll your social media feed until the water heats up. Then, as you step

Home with modern exterior

Picture this: You step into the shower and turn the knob to your usual temperature. You proceed to scroll your social media feed until the water heats up. Then, as you step in you’re unexpectedly met with the lake-like temperature of 59 degrees piercing your body. Unless you’ve been cold plunging — you’re about to experience some serious discomfort.

“I'll take one cold shower unplanned, but I'm not going to take two cold showers, right?”

It’s how David Chisholm, VP of Marketing at A.O. Smith, a leading manufacturer of water heaters and water treatment solutions, explained what happens to the majority of us when our water heater breaks. He said the typical replacement window is 24 hours which means we’re often having to Yelp important decisions on the fly.

Your water heater is often the next most significant home appliance investment after the HVAC system, so why not give yourself more time to make an informed decision?

The deciding factor on your new water heater will depend on what is important to you and your family. For example, is lowering your gas or electric bill a priority? And where does limitless hot water rank on your list?

There’s a list of questions A.O. Smith provides to help steer you in the right direction which includes understanding the length of time of your showers, how often they’re taken back to back, and some general questions around the space you have and how it’s vented.

If you’re in the market for a new car and cost of ownership is important, you’ll analyze options of cars fueled by gas, electric, and you may even weigh the benefits of diesel. The same rings true for water heaters because of advances in technology.

David explained that roughly 85% of water heaters purchased in the U.S. are replacing broken ones in residential homes and buyers have plenty of options. Internet searches yield that the average life span of a water heater can widely range from 8-15 years, so if you invest in a reputable brand and properly maintenance it — it will likely last longer.

Before deciding on the exact type of water heater (electric heat pump, gas tank, etc.) it’s important to be aware of financial incentives that may factor in to your decision making. One of the best kept secrets is that you can layer state and federal rebate incentives.

A great place to start is the Rebate & Incentives tab on hotwater.com where you can input your zip code to see what offers are available to you geographically. The search results conveniently rank what products offer the highest amount of rebates.

Often the installation cost can be equal to or more than the water heater itself. The Inflation Reduction Act provides federal income tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements — including water heaters.

As an example, if I was interested in a new hybrid electric heat pump water heater I can save 30% or up to $2,000 on the installation, as well as an instant $700 savings through a state sponsored incentive at the time of purchase at a participating retailer like Lowe’s.

This helps reduce the upfront cost of an electric heat pump because the units are often 2-3 times more expensive than a traditional gas water heater. Arthur Smith, who leads product management for A.O. Smith’s water heaters, explained that the the reason many homeowners are leaning towards the electric heat pump is because they’re significantly more energy efficient.

“You know how a refrigerator cools on the inside and emits heat outside? A heat pump works like that but in reverse. It's pulling heat from the room and using a compressor and refrigerant to take that energy and it puts it into the water. You do use a very small amount of electricity to run a heat pump but it’s really an efficient way to transfer energy,” he explained.

He also said that it does have electric elements in the tank as backup for emergency heat when the pump is not creating enough hot water for peak demand periods. This is also why it’s important to make sure you have the proper size water heater for your home so it runs in “heat pump mode” as often as possible.

“For a ballpark figure, if it costs roughly $550-$600 to operate an electric water heater annually, while a heat pump like the ProLine XE® Voltex Hybrid Electric Heat Pump may run you about one hundred bucks per year, give or take.”

A.O. Smith ProLine XE® Voltex® 50-Gallon Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater

Ultimately, if you dedicate the time to estimate the lifespan of your current water heater and cost of ownership you can develop a plan to select the best replacement while maximizing any rebates without feeling rushed.

They’ve been at this for a while. A.O. Smith is widely known as a forward looking manufacturing company with it’s rich history dating back nearly 150 years when they first made bicycle parts. In 1899, Arthur Oliver Smith (pictured below), a son of the founder, developed the world's first pressed steel vehicle frame. At that point they were producing 10 per day until Henry Ford requested 10,000 frames in 4 months for the Ford Motor Company. Smith retooled his manufacturing and delivered the order on time and was famously quoted saying “That’s what we’re here for.”

Arthur Smith and Henry Ford

As David reflected on the on the innovations and contributions to a variety of industries over the past century, he recalled his recent roadtrip.

“I was driving through upstate New York along the countryside and you see them everywhere, particularly in rural areas. The blue silos with a white top, those are all A.O. Smith grain storage facilities and that blue is the glass lining.”

In 1933, the company developed the process of fusing glass to steel to line brewery tanks which was later used for agricultural storage.

A. O. Smith introduced the first large, single-piece glass-lined brewery tank in 1933 and produced ... [+] more than 11,000 glass-lined brewery tanks over the next 33 years. In 1936, A. O. Smith patented the process of glass-lining a water heater tank, known today as its Blue Diamond® glass coating.

Leading through innovation has been a theme over years. For our family, one of the most important needs was having hot water for an extended period of time. What’s unique about their tankless gas water heater coined the X3 is that they’ve married their expertise from their water treatment business to create a unit that essentially does not need the annual descaling and maintenance other tankless water heaters require. It’s truly solved our issues of needing more hot water for back to back showers and knowing we don’t need to maintenance it every year is a relief.

In the world of water heaters there have been significant advancements in energy efficiency, decarbonization, and overall performance. You often hear that buying a home is the biggest purchase you’ll ever make, but there’s not a great manual for many decisions that come along with it. Whether it be a leaky roof or major appliance — if you have the runway to make an informed decision you’ll be better off for it.