Alabama Schools replace aging water heaters with Rheem Triton smart high efficiency gas water heaters
As Director of Operations for the Oxford City School District, Alabama, Eric Burrage worried about aging water heaters at two of the district’s elementary schools.
Oxford Elementary School and Coldwater Elementary School both were operating their kitchens with 10-plus-year-old standard gas water heaters. Any day, Burrage knew, a member of his maintenance team could receive a call from the kitchen staff at one school or the other that there was no hot water for meal preparation.
“These K-4 schools provide 300 to 400 breakfast meals every day. For lunch, it jumps to 500 to 600,” Burrage says. “So, we use a lot of hot water at both locations.”
He and the school district had some specific requirements. They wanted to replace the older standard gas water heaters with long-lasting, high-efficiency gas units and didn’t want the installation to interfere with the regular school-day operations.
The Solution
Rheem provided Oxford Elementary with a Triton SS, GHE100SS-160 high-efficiency gas water heater and Coldwater Elementary with a Triton SS, GHE100SS-200 high-efficiency gas water heater. Both have a 100-gallon tank capacity and up to 98 percent thermal efficiency.
Triton’s multiple water connections and wide variety of venting options are designed to make installation fast and easy. The new units were put in place after school was out for the day in each location, taking only approximately one to three hours.
Burrage and his team were pleased not only with the ease of installation in both scenarios, but also with Triton’s range of intelligent features, which well exceeded their desired requirements.
With built-in features like Rheem’s exclusive EcoNet Smart Monitoring Technology with integrated Wi-Fi, the operations team can now monitor the Triton water heaters at both schools through an easy-to-use mobile phone app, as well as on the full-color LCD display on the units. Triton self-monitors its most vital components and detects and alerts of potential issues before they occur.
Triton SS also includes LeakGuard, the industry’s only all-inclusive leak detection and prevention system, with a proprietary auto shut-off valve that limits leakage to no more than 24 ounces of water. This intelligent leak detection system catches leaks as small as a grain of sand and provides real-time leak notifications.
“The EcoNet app is easy to use and lets us monitor water and energy usage in real time, from wherever we are,” Burrage notes. “If there’s ever a problem, we’ll receive a timely alert about it.”
By tracking and checking water and energy usage, the schools have found ways to reduce consumption and save money. The operations team has peace of mind knowing if problems occur with the water heaters—even over holiday and summer breaks when no one is in the schools—they will receive an immediate alert.
Built to Last
Because durability was also important for the school system’s operations team, they were assured to learn that Triton is built to last longer than the industry average. With tank life-extending features like its triple-pass heat exchanger, constructed of ASME-grade steel, advanced power anodes and preventive maintenance reminders, both Alabama schools expect to enjoy worry-free hot water for years to come.
“Triton is helping us save money and time,” Burrage says. “I am 100 percent happy with the product.”
Learn more about Triton at www.Rheem.com/Triton.