GE Developing New Line of Energy-Efficient Solar Water Heaters

GE Consumer & Industrial, the first U.S. company to meet newly established ENERGY STAR standards for residential water heaters, announced today that it is developing a line of solar water heaters meeting the 2009 Energy Star guidelines.

The water heaters will be the first products to benefit from a new Solar Lab at GE Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky: The Innovation Team of GE Consumer & Industrial has installed a rooftop platform of solar energy collectors that will give scientists and engineers at GE data collection and evaluation tools for creating renewable energy products.

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"GE re-entered the water heating business about ten years ago," noted Kevin Nolan, Vice President Technology for GE Consumer & Industrial. "GE has recently driven changes in water heating technology by developing both tankless gas and hybrid electric water heater products - the first to meet newly established ENERGY STAR(r) standards. Using solar energy to heat water for the home is the logical next step in the evolution of waters heaters," he continued.

The solar water heating industry is currently very small. Total deliveries in 2007 were only 12,000 units as compared with 9,000,000 of other types of water heaters, according to statistics from the Solar Rating & Certification Corporation, Rheem, and the Gas Appliance Manufacturer's Association. There are estimates that 17,000 solar water-heating units will be sold in 2008.Solar thermal water heaters are designed to utilize heat energy collected in rooftop panels to warm water in a separate tank via a heat exchanger. During product development and testing, GE will pair solar-thermal power with a number of backup energy sources and designs to maintain performance on cloudy days - ultimately looking for the optimal mix of energy savings and product performance.

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