For all media inquires, please contact:
Malea Barron: mbarron@gsandf.com or Leigh Durbin ldurbin@gsandf.com • GS&F • 615.385.1100
A. O. Smith Products Win Two EID Awards
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (Monday, 27 June 2011)
A. O. Smith’s NEXT Hybrid® High Efficiency Gas Water Heater and Cirrex® Solar Thermal Water Heating System (www.hotwater.com) have been chosen by appliance DESIGN as recipients of the magazine’s 24th Annual Excellence in Design Awards.
The NEXT Hybrid and Cirrex were chosen by an independent panel of three industrial design experts. Entries were evaluated by appearance, human factors, innovation and technical merits. The entrants were also judged on their company’s seriousness about industrial design and innovative approaches that make technology more accessible to the user.
The NEXT Hybrid was honored with the silver award.
The NEXT Hybrid is the only true hybrid water heater currently on the market. This unit combines a tankless engine and a small buffer tank, delivering the benefits of both tankless and conventional technologies. The NEXT Hybrid performs like a tankless model, but installs similar to conventional models. Its buffer tank puts an end to problems such as minimum flow rates and cold water “sandwiches,” allowing the NEXT Hybrid to perform during peak periods when water is needed by more than one appliance.
For maximum energy efficiency, the NEXT Hybrid water heater uses exhaust gas from the tankless engine to transfer additional heat into the water stored in the buffer tank. This design allows the unit to operate at 90 percent thermal efficiency, well ahead of a conventional tank model’s 78 percent or a standard tankless unit at 82 percent thermal efficiency. That translates into environmentally friendly performance in the form of lower monthly energy costs for the homeowner.
The Cirrex was honored with the bronze award.
The Cirrex system is OG-300 by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC). With this system, up to 70 percent of the energy needed for a home’s water heating can be captured from the sun, meaning the Cirrex can significantly reduce operating costs.
Contractors will appreciate the simplicity of the Cirrex, which is an all-in-one system for easy specification and installation. A. O. Smith provides all of the components, so contractors have one point of contact for all of their product support, sales, and service needs.
Homeowners can rest assured they’re getting one of the industry’s most advanced solar thermal systems available on the market today. The solar thermal collectors are much more effective at capturing energy from the sun compared with traditional photovoltaic solar panels, and they do it at a fraction of the cost. The larger the tank and number of panels incorporated into the system, the more effectively the Cirrex can capture energy from the sun.
“The purpose of appliance DESIGN’s annual design competition is to honor those designers who have excelled in meeting the modern challenge of harmoniously melding technology and industrial design,” said Maggie McFadden Shein, appliance DESIGN editor.
The NEXT Hybrid and the Cirrex will be featured in the June 2011 issue of appliance DESIGN magazine.
Both the NEXT Hybrid and the Cirrex are federal tax credit eligible, and many state and local utility companies offer rebates for the model. To learn more about A. O. Smith’s NEXT Hybrid, Cirrex and other energy-efficient water heaters, please visit www.hotwater.com.
About A. O. Smith Water Products Company:
Headquartered in Ashland City, Tenn., A. O. Smith Water Products Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial water heaters and boilers. A. O. Smith offers contractors an additional competitive advantage in that the company designs, builds, distributes and field supports the world’s broadest and deepest line of residential and commercial water heaters, as well as commercial boilers. This single-source concept simplifies ordering, installation and service and is backed by more than 70 years of research and innovation. For more information, visit www.hotwater.com.
A. O. Smith Products Win Two EID Awards (PDF)
View All Press Releases