Choosing the right water heater for your home, business or commercial space is always a hard nut to crack. But as it seems, you’ve made your choices extremely confined between two brands- Rheem and AO Smith.
Here are the quick glimpse of differences between Rheem vs Ao Smith.
From a bird’s eye view , Rheem masters in building heavily performing electric water heaters, where AO Smith specializes in gas-powered ones. In terms of accessories, Rheem is richer. But AO Smith sports better energy efficiency. And the comparison can go on and on.
However, if we generalize the comparison from an end user’s point of view, having a straight verdict is pretty hard. In the 11th hour of making a decision, this hectic comparison can drive you nuts.
This is what drove us to craft this entire piece. Take a few minutes to go through the whole comparison of Rheem vs AO Smith and we’ll come to a conclusion eventually.
Rheem vs Ao Smith- Which Is For Whom?
Before we dive into the depth of today’s comparison, let's put our short summary upfront.
So, what kind of users should go with which brand. See yourself within which brand you’ll love to fall in-
Buy Rheem Products If-
Buy AO Smith Products If-
AO Smith vs Rheem: Head to Head
Factor to compare | Rheem | Ao smith |
|---|---|---|
Operating for | 85+ Years | 95 Years |
Product Category | Residential and Industrial | Residential and Industrial |
Core Products | Water heaters, Furnace, AC, Coil | Water heaters, Boilers and Tanks |
Power Options | Gas and Electric | Gas and Electric |
Number of Models(WH) | 58 (tanked) 37 (tankless) | 268 (tanked) 51 (tankless) |
Warranty | 6 years to lifetime | 6 - 10 years |
Geo-based Service & Repair | Yes(up to 25 miles) | Yes(up to 100 miles) |
Best for | Electric Heaters | Gas Heaters |
Design Quality | Excellent | Satisfactory |
Design Diversity | Good | Excellent |
Customer Support | good | great |
User Reviews |
In-Depth Comparison Between Rheem and AO Smith
Product Diversity
By far, almost all of us know that both of our brands of the day are into water heater manufacturing regime. But none of them are limited within ‘Just’ water heaters anyway. In terms of the exact product lineup, they share some common space and some unique ones as well.
Product Lineup of Rheem
For years, Rheem had been into water heaters of various forms into the categories of both commercial and residential kinds.
Under residential wing, they’ve got a rich lineup containing water heaters, water heater boosters, smart thermostats, tankless water heaters, combi water boiler, mini-splits as their innovative and signature product. Also, they provide a number of heating and cooling solutions, pool and spa heating, home enhancement amenities, etc.
Moving forward to the commercial segment, the brand also features a number of featured innovations in product form as they do for residents. Among the signature products, they have commercial tankless heaters, rooftop water heaters, commercial HVAC lines, etc.
They also have packaged heat pumps, ACs, split ACs, commercial air handlers, and so on. On top of that, commercial solutions in forms of gas water heater, electric water heater, storage tanks, etc are also in their bag to offer.
Product Lineup of AO Smith
As they claim to be one of the leading manufacturers of residential and industrial water heater industry, the product lineup will talk quite on behalf of it. Just like the previous brand, they also have two separate wings of residential and commercial products.
Here goes the listing in-depth-
For residential purposes, the frontline products are gar tank water heaters, electric tank water heaters, heat pump heaters for water, tankless(both electric and non-electric) water heaters, and finally- combi boilers. With all of them, they also manufacture accessories and individual tanks as well.
On the flip side, they have commercial water heaters, boilers, packaged HVAC systems, storage tanks, and accessories for industries and offices.
Comparison Table: AO Smith Vs Rheem Water Heater Diversity
Factor to compare | Rheem | Ao smith |
|---|---|---|
Residential Tank Water Heater | Yes(Gas and electric both) | Yes(Gas and electric both) |
Residential Tankless Water Heater | Yes(Condensing and electric both) | Yes(Gas and electric both) |
Residential Combi Boilers | Yes | Yes |
Residential Tank & Accessories | yes(Accessories only) | Yes |
Residential Pool and Spa Heaters | Yes | No |
Residential Hybrid Water Heaters | Yes | No |
Residential Solar Water Heater | Yes | No |
Commercial Tank Water Heater | Yes(Gas and electric both) | Yes(Gas and electric both) |
Commercial Tankless Water Heater | Yes(Gas and electric both) | Yes(Condensing or Non-Condensing) |
Commercial Boiler | Yes | Yes |
Commercial Package System | Yes(AC, Heat Pump) | Yes |
Commercial Storage Tanks | yes | yes |
Commercial Heater Accessories | no | yes |
Price |
Winner: Rheem
PRODUCT QUALITY: TANKED AND TANKLESS HEATERS
The next factor to compare and to be concerned about is the Rheem vs AO Smith water heater quality of both tanked and tankless types.
Tanked heaters are one of the most familiar forms of water heaters for both residential and commercial aspects. They are cheaper in price and installation, and easier to operate and troubleshoot as well.
On the other hand- it’s a world of minimalism, and that has touched the water heater of your home too. For more continuous, hassle-free, and instant water heating facilities, people are moving more towards tankless heaters, and so do brands like Rheem and AO Smith.
So, what are we going to compare between tanked/tankless heaters of Rheem and AO Smith? To make things simpler, we’ve divided that into a few sub-factors-
Sub-factor 1: Number of Heater Model
When it narrows down to the number of choices you have within tanked/tankless heater models, this is what two of our brands have to offer-
Rheem: With quite some differentiating factors, Rheem produces 15 tanked water heaters of electric type, and 43 tanked water heaters of gas-type. They vary a lot regarding the BTU capacity, water capacity, emission rating, pipe system, etc.
On the other hand, Rheem has three kinds of tankless heaters for residents-
Mid-Efficiency Tankless Water Heaters: 12 Models
High-Efficiency Tankless Water Heaters: 12 Models
Tankless Electric Water Heaters: 13 Models
AO Smith: AO Smith is the proud manufacturer of over 270 models of tanked water heaters. 66 of them are electric tanked water heaters, where 206 of them are of gas-driven models. In terms of gallons of water capacity, dimension, fuel type(propane/natural gas), pump technology, wattage, voltage, and other handy features, you can pinpoint the exact model you need.
Moving to the other hand, the brand has a rich lineup containing 51 tankless water heaters in total. 18 of them are electric, and 33 of them are gas-powered.
Sub-factor 2: Energy Efficiency
As an end-user, energy consumption and its efficiency top the priority list. Hence, here are the insights from both of the brand’s tanked heaters-
Rheem: Instead of the typical energy efficiency rating, Rheem had been smart enough to introduce the new Uniform Energy Factor(UEF) as the rating measure of their tanked hater’s energy efficiency.
Within a certain scaling, here is the list of some of Rheem’s most energy-efficient tanked heater models/series-
Professional Prestige Series: 0.80 - 0.83 UEF
Performance Power Direct Vent 50 Gallon Gas Water Heater: 0.80 UEF
Performance High-Efficiency Condensing Power Direct Vent: 0.81 UEF
We can put the tankless models from Rheem into the same scare of energy efficiency as well.
Look at some highly energy-efficient tankless heaters from Rheem-
Tankless Mid-Efficiency 95 Direct Vent Indoor: .82 UEF -US
Tankless Mid-Efficiency 84 Direct Vent Indoor: .82 UEF -US
Tankless Mid-Efficiency 84 Outdoor: .82 UEF -US
AO Smith: AO Smith had taken both of the convenient and newest paths when it comes to rating their tank or tankless heaters. They have got the UEF ratings and have got the well-known ‘Energy Star’ ratings as well. And this works equally for both gas-driven and electric tanked/tankless heaters from the brand.
In terms of top UEF rating, here are some of the tanked heaters from the brand-
Gas-type AO Smith Tanked Heaters with Top UEF Rating
Polaris® High-Efficiency GSP 100 (LP): 0.90 UEF
Vertex™ 100 Power Direct Vent Propane Water Heater: 0.86 UEF
ProLine® XE SL Power Vent 50-Gallon Gas Water Heater: 0.73 UEF
Gas-type AO Smith Tankless Heaters with Top UEF Rating-
Tankless Water Heater ATI-240H-N, 160,000 BTU: 0.94 UEF
Tankless Water Heater ATI-540H-N, 199,000 BTU: 0.95 UEF
Electric AO Smith Tanked Heaters with Top UEF Rating-
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump 66-Gallon Water Heater: 3.35 UEF
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump 50-Gallon Water Heater: 3.45 UEF
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump FPTU-50: 3.42 UEF
Electric AO Smith Tankless Heaters with Top UEF Rating-
Electric Tankless R4MA-320E 4-Chamber Water Heater: 0.93 UEF
Electric Tankless R4LA-240E 4-Chamber Water Heater: 0.92 UEF
Lastly, here are some of their products with Energy Star approval-
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump HPTU-80N
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump FPTU-80
Voltex® Hybrid Electric Heat Pump HPTU-66N
Comparison Table: Rheem vs AO Smith Product Quality
Factor to compare | Rheem | Ao smith |
|---|---|---|
Number of Tanked Heater Model | 15 (Electric) 43 (gas-type) | 66 (Electric) 206 (gas-type) |
Number of Tankless Heater Model | 12 (Mid-Efficiency) 12 (High Efficiency) 13 (Electric) | 18 (Electric) 33 (gas-type) |
Energy Efficiency Scale | UEF(Uniform Energy Factor) | UEF and Energy Star |
Best UEF Range | 0.80 - 0.83 UEF | 3.45 UEF |
Winner: Ao Smith
Design and Installation:
As long as it’s a complicated HVAC device, hardly we bother about installing and replacing it ourselves. Instead, we prefer calling the professional on the rescue.
But still, if you have a bit of DIY-ship in you and you care about what you pay for, you should know about the design and installation process of heaters of both brands.
Here you go-
Rheem: As long as it’s design and innovation, Rheem never stops to keep pushing themselves to break boundaries. As a consequence, we’ve got to see a number of signature products from their inventory.
Products like Gladiator Water Heater, Smart Thermostats, Condensing Tankless Heaters- these are the toppers of the list of their innovative products.
About installation, the brand has got a service called ‘Find A Pro’ that connects you and any independent Rheem serviceman within 25 miles. But these third party contractors are not directly authorized by Rheem. So in case of any inconvenience, you have to take the liability and bear the damage cost.
AO Smith: About the design of AO Smith heaters and accessories, the greatest selling point is the diverse range of product design in terms of size, capacity, energy efficiency, water tank size, fuel type, and so on.
So, what they’d offer you is to pinpoint your necessity and they will find the closest match from their rich inventory right away. The AO Smith water heater reviews that we’ve gone through are also supporting the fact.
About the installing department, AO Smith sports a similar search feature within a certain radius (10, 15, 20, 25, and even 100 miles) that would get you a trained serviceman. Unlike Rheem, the good part about this service is, AO Smith took the liability to train these contractors up.
Winner: Ao Smith
Warranty:
Heaters are troublesome, no matter how good a brand’s products are. Therefore, the warranty policy of the manufacturers and their tendency to stick to them is definitely important.
Have a look at what our brands of the day are saying about their warranty and stuff.
Rheem:
Once you get to register your Rheem product through their website, you’ll get access to Rheem support and warranty services including extended warranty (optional). The registration process might look hefty for the first time though.
Once you register and verify your warranty rights, you’ll be under their limited warranty policy that starts from 6 years. The upper limit of the extended warranty is up to the time when the owner leaves the house where the product was installed. Some of the verified Rheem water heater reviews say that it might take long times to reach to you if you’re in a remote location.
AO Smith:
AO Smith has a similar process of verifying the warranty rights of the user. Once you opt-in there and put your serial and reference number, you’ll be eligible for their 6-10 years warranty policy.
Winner: Rheem
Parting Words
Having said that all, we’d advise you to pay deep attention to whatever you’re paying for. Also, beware of the faults and loopholes in the customer service, repair, and warranty policy. This will prevent any unexpected costs to take place with your heaters.
Good luck!