No one likes to run out of hot water. But traditional tank water heaters have their limits, no matter the size. In fact, most tank water heaters barely provide the capacity shown on the label. Thankfully, there’s a new way to produce extra hot water without sizing up or adding a separate mixing valve.
Let’s see how GE Appliances Air & Water Solutions’ FlexibleCAPACITY™ water heaters can provide homeowners with 60% more hot water while still using an average-sized tank.
Introducing an Integrated Electronic Mixing Valve
While mixing valves are not a new feature to the industry, they aren’t pre-installed, creating extra expenses and more complicated installations. Even then, mixing valves have to be manually configured to ensure the proper temperature is maintained and homeowners remain safe.
GEA Air & Water Solutions’ FlexibleCAPACITY™ series has a built-in mixing valve that turns a 50-gallon tank heater into an 80-gallon heater digitally, providing homeowners with up to 60% more hot water when they need it.
This is the first and only water heater in the industry where an integrated electronic mixing valve comes standard.
How It Works
When users select the X-High setting, the water is heated up to and stored at 160 degrees. As it leaves the tank, the cold water valve mixes the proper amount of colder inlet water to meet the selected temperature — typically 120 degrees. This, in turn, delivers more usable hot water.
Within the mixing valve compartment, there’s a digital sensor that reads the exit temperature, opening the mixing valve to provide users with water at exactly the temperature they desire. Both the temperature and settings can be controlled remotely from the SmartHQ™ app, thanks to the control panel’s built-in Wi-Fi.
When the X-High setting is selected and the temperature is set to 120 degrees:
- 30-gallon tanks provide 50 gallons of hot water
- 40-gallon tanks provide 65 gallons of hot water
- 50-gallon tanks provide 80-plus gallons of hot water
Why It Matters
FlexibleCAPACITY water heaters not only provide more hot water when it’s needed but also are more efficient to operate. Continuously running a 50-gallon flexible capacity tank on X-High every day is more energy efficient than using an 80-gallon hot water tank.
But the integrated mixing valve, which comes standard on each unit, is the most helpful feature of the FlexibleCAPACITY water heater. It’s the only water heater on the market that doesn’t require additional parts and labor to add the flexibility and convenience of a mixing valve. This, in turn, saves time and money for contractors and the end user.
Get a closer look at our lineup of FlexibleCAPACITY water heaters and see how this industry-leading product can benefit your customers.