The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); the Air- Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); and the International Exposition Company (IEC), producers and organizers of the AHR Expo, have honored Rheem with a 2012 AHR Expo Innovation Award. The first-of-its-kind Rheem H2AC™ Rooftop Unit featuring eSync™ Integration Technology arned this esteemed honor in the award competition’s cooling category.
While Rheem designed the H2AC Rooftop Unit for full-service restaurants, the system can meet the air conditioning and water heating needs for any commercial setting that requires large daily demands for hot water. This system unites an establishment’s HVAC and water heating systems to achieve significant efficiencies. It works by using Rheem’s exclusive eSync Integration Technology, which takes the heat removed by the HVAC system and uses it as an efficient source for heating water. The H2AC Rooftop Unit is able to pre-heat a facility’s cold water supply to as much as 125 degrees Fahrenheit—which substantially reduces water heating costs. In the first year after Rheem installed this system at a Western Sizzlin in Northwest Arkansas the owners saved nearly $5,670 on their gas utility bill.
The AHR Innovation Awards honor the most innovative new products that will be showcased during the annual AHR Expo, which is the largest HVACR exposition and conference in the world. A panel of judges made up of ASHRAE members evaluated products submitted in 10 different categories based on innovation, application, value to the user, and market impact. The cooling category includes any product or system designed to decrease the temperature of a space.
This is the third industry honor in 2012 for the Rheem H2AC Rooftop Unit. In July, it earned a Gold ealer Design Award (DDA) in the commercial equipment category, and in September, it won a Mechanical Systems Week Product Showcase Award in the forced-air (cooling) category. This is also the second year in a row that Rheem has been honored with an AHR Expo Innovation Award; the Rheem XR90 Extreme Recovery Gas Water Heater won the award in the plumbing category at the 2012 show.