Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)

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• Jay Leno
• heating
• video

BURBANK, Calif. — The staff here is always looking for ways to be more efficient, even if they’re relatively small. So Jay Leno invited the folks from A.O. Smith Water Heaters recently to bring their new, high-efficiency Vertex water heater to the Green Garage. Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. came along to check out the installation, as well as to his garage. Ed was certainly impressed with the work so far, and he’ss exited about this water heater, too.

A.O Smith brand manager David Chisolm and Bateman Water Heating Engineering’s Scott Bateman explained that the Vertex isn’t just a regular gas water heater: It generates a whopping 76,000 BTUs per hour, but it’s also 90 percent efficient. Most home water heaters in service today are around 78 percent efficient, and tankless models are 80 percent efficient.

The key to this unit’s performance is in the coil. Inside the tank, the Vertex has a “helical coil” heat exchanger, which essentially has an increased surface area exposed to the water compared to a conventional heater. This helps produce more hot water, more efficiently, and at a lower cost. The Vertex is said to produce as much hot water as much larger models and claims to provide a continuous flow of hot water—enough for hot shower after hot shower.

A.O. Smith says home owners are saving up to 30 percent on their hot water utility bill. Sounds good to us.

Check out water heater installation video below, then click here for our top 5 tips to save energy with your water heater!

10. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
i'd like to know how this efficiency percentage is calculated, the ENERGY FACTOR is only in the 0.6 range. heat pumps tend to be around 2, but there are other factors maybe i'm missing?

9. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
I found this article the day I installed my Vertex. Thanks for highlighting what I thought was the most effiecient water heater available today.

8. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
Website: www.davescustomplumbing.com
We have installed the vertex water heater and our customers are very satisfied. I wish the counties/cities would come up with some sort of rebate form because this water heater is so energy efficient.

7. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
A 30 percent monthy waterheating cost reduction is pathetic. I pay nothing per month by using a simple solar water heater.

6. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
Website: www.popularmechanics.com
This is nothing special. You can get three times 300% more hot water with a heat pump water heater. If you couple it to an AC you can get your hot water fro free in the summer.

5. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
Jay, Keep it green. Is it possible to receive additional information concerning the Vertex water heater. Thanks

4. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
Website: www.tpocr.com
I love ya Jay, but your not real. What poorman can afford this? Thanks for keeping it green.

3. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
i love what your doing with your garage for the environment b/c every bit counts. time and matterial are not unlimited so we must conserve. keep doing what your doing.

2. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
The point of efficiency isn't to give us two hour showers, is it? Of course, this might be great for a locker room or a large family, all of whom want to shower in the morning. But for a garage or small family it may be heat efficient, but it isn't H2O efficient. And if you are constantly heating water that you're not using, how is that more efficient than heating only the water you need, when you need it, with an on-demand heater?

1. RE: Jay's Green Garage: Leno Installs a Superefficient Water Heater (with Video)
do you have any infomation on tankless water hearters

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