Customer Reviews for Rheem ProTerra 40 Gal. 10-Year Hybrid High Efficiency Smart Tank Electric Water Heater with Leak Detection & Auto Shutoff

I just had this installed in a garage and it’s so loud when the heat pump is running I can hear it in the main house. It’s sitting at 55dB. If I move it closer to the exhaust it’s over 60dB. Turning it to electric heater instead of heat pump make the noise go away.

I have the 40 gallon version with 2 adults and I am averaging about 1.84 kwh per day over the last 10 days. My 27 year old electric water heater made by "American Water Heater Company" that was replaced by the Rheem was averaging about 13.5 kwh per day. I estimate I will save $44 per month based on my current electric rates. The exhaust fan is very quiet which runs an hour or two at most after finishing up 2 showers. A gas or tankless water heater makes more sense for very cold climates.

Mine started leaking in 8th year. They did not honor 12 year warranty because licensed plumber disconnected and put new one in. Warranty means nothing. You have to wait for them for weeks and the you can change the water heater. They know that this is impossible and you have to change right away so they put an exclusion on the warranty document that you cannot move water heater. Dishonest company and people. I am stupid that I bought same water heater thinking they will honor the warranty. I hope this helps someone out there.

Installed it in garage where it can take hot air and release cooler air. In addition to heating water more efficiently, it is also helping to keep the garage cooler in Texas hot weather.

The Water Heater arrived with a folk lift hole in the box, dent in the WH and signs that the WH Box had been dropped on its head. I sent it back which took a week. Now I have to wait for another sale.

A tale of 3 water heaters: Needed a replacement for my 80 gallon heater. Largest hybrid that would fit my space was 65 gallons, and HD had a 4th of July special, so ordered it on line since it was not in stock at stores. Had read all the one star reviews, but they were years old, and figured I'd have better luck. Thankfully HD customer service was excellent. Here's the story: WH#1: Delivered as promised. Installed by me without a problem. Turned on and compressor ran but no cold air from exhaust and Error codes show problem with compressor. Called Rheem, told it was probably faulty thermistors and they would send out replacements and instructions. Five days later replaced thermistors and still not working properly. Called Rheem who walked me through testing the unit and determined compressor failure and authorized replacement. Went to local HD to arrange replacement, told since it was ordered online, they couldn't do the return trough the store, but they were very nice and called online return for me and arranged it while I waited. Was told I would have to pay for replacement in advance and get a credit for the returned one after it was picked up. Free pickup and delivery and sale price honored. Points for HD. Note: wanted to not remove first WH until replacement came since it was working with standard elements and I wanted hot water. HW #2: Delivered damaged (see photo). Unable to use. Called HD customer service - again very efficient and polite. Arranged for return of first and second water heaters, and took order for THIRD unit. HW #3 Delivered undamaged and installed and functioning properly (for now). HD picked up both defective heaters promptly, and credit issued within 3 days (very impressed.) Summary: This is a 5th Generation Rheem Hybrid - seems like they still have quality control issues. Was annoyed that I have to uninstall and reinstall the units, but would have been very upset if I had to pay and installer for his labor and not be reimbursed (as some other reviewers stated). I got the service contract from HD ($75) as insurance. Running on heat pump only mode my electric usage is less than 2 kWh as opposed to 10 kWh using the full electric mode. Will post updates if anything changes

Easy installation for a do-it yourselfer. I replaced an existing electric water heater. Most challenging part was using a hand dolly to get the water heater into the proper position. My hand dolly can also lay down on four wheels and I recommend you use this type. While still upright, remove the cardboard box but keep the styrofoam supports in place. Unbolt the heater from the shipping pallet. Then using the hand dolly, tilt the unit over so it is horizontal on top of the dolly which is now on 4 wheels. Remove the pallet and now position the drip pan against the foot of the dolly and slide the heater towards the pan and remove all gap. Now tilt the unit back vertically onto the floor; unit is now upright and in the pan. Slide into final position, plumb the drain and other piping, fill unit with water, purge all air, connect wiring last, and then energize the breaker. Adult family of 4 and I have the unit set on heatpump only mode at 130F. Have not run out of hot water. Very pleased with unit.

hot water tank was easy to install everything is working as it should operating it on heat pump mode only plenty of hot water

Water heater was fully installed and powered on. Constantly getting A004 and T007 errors. Called in to Rheem who after having me go through diagnostics told me the compressor was defective and the place of purchase would support me. However, this model is not longer available for shipping and isn't in stock nearby. That's not how a warranty works. Rheem should set up replacement shipping of a new water heater.

These water heaters are great the savings are impressive. The installation was super easy I found a DIY install video on you tube that walked through the whole process. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJYZS92-Bo&t=566s My electric company offered a rebate so it made sense to change it. Now I have a water heater with a warranty! I keep it set at 125 f and have no problems with keeping up with 5 people 3 girls and 2 boys.

Smart meter can be monitored on electric company website. Amazing how obvious the difference we see on our bill. Not so impressed with the app. Wish you could access the same info you get on heater display.

Amazing water heater I noticed a drop in my electric bill right away! My normal usage is about 1200 kw a month. With the new water heater installed mid month it was 800 kw!

professionality installed

I just purchased it l. Installed myself. Cold water goes in bottom have to design for bottom feed. Replacing a top feed. Safety. Hot water out also on side exta expense for the price. Just started running warms water quickly. Hot water will know soon.

The Rheem Platinum 50 gallon Hybrid Water Heater is a perfect addition to our home. The water heater was easy to install. The installation took about two hours from start to finish ( would have been faster if I was a better plumber). The hot water heater was shipped to our home within a few days following the online purchase. We have only had it for less than a month and we are excited to see the difference in our electric bill. So far the water heater has not ran out of hot water with my high water usage demand family of five. The touch screen control panel makes it easy to adjust temperature and see how the water heater is performing. Overall, the Rheem Platinum 50 gallon Hybrid Water Heater has exceeded our expectations. The water heater out performs all the traditional hot water heaters we have ever had.

Purchased this unit last week to replace our existing 12 year old electric water heater. Our power company offered a $500 rebate for installing one, and the efficiency compared to the standard electric water heaters is insane, making the cost more palatable.Installation is straight-forward, though you/your plumber will need to account for the low position of the cold water inlet.Compressor is very quiet. Ours is installed in an unfinished basement directly below our living room and kitchen. Neither my wife nor I can hear it run.Power consumption has been minimal, between .83 and 1.2 kW per day (two adults showering, dish washer, etc.).All in all a do-again. We'll see how it lasts with regular maintenance.

The unit went in easy in a closet with a water softener next to it. This one is just slightly wider than my old regular water heater but it still fits in the closet comfortably. The installation instructions recommend to add venting when installing in a closet. I added a duct to get the cold air out of the closet and changed the door to a louvered door so it gets the intake air from the main room. I got hot water soon after turning it on and it seems to be working fine. I wish the WH was in the garage like my old house because it puts a lot of cold air out as it heats the water and it would have been a welcomed bonus in Florida. The Econet app is not that great but it allows you to easily control the WH temperature, operation mode and a to set a running schedule.

I bought this unit to replace a 12 year old 50 gallon natural gas water heater. I wanted to replace the gas water heater before it failed. I saw this (or a similar model) on an episode of This Old House. I researched it and read a lot of reviews before I placed the order. I selected this brand and model because of the efficiency ratings, the potential savings over time, recommended sizing by the manufacture, and the integrated WiFi controller. The unit was well crated by the manufacture. No issues with shipping and there was no damage. The installation was straight forward but I did have a little extra work because I converted from gas to electric. There's also the extra plumbing work to accommodate the side-mounted inlet and outlet connections. This unit is installed in a large unfinished basement so I didn't have to duct anything. I was surprised and pleased with how quiet the heat pump runs. I read mixed reviews about the noise level. I've had this running for about three weeks now and I'm running it in energy saver mode. Family of four, lot's of laundry and the dishwasher runs every night. Always have plenty of hot water. Very happy with this water heater.

So far, so good. We had a tankless (propane) unit that could not keep up with our use in our 4-person household. I wasn't aware of the problem at the time we bought the tankless, but the higher you set the temp on a tankless, the lower the gallons per minute it can handle. Should have done my homework! (Running the washing machine and shower at the same time would cause the hot water in the shower to fluctuate a lot; throw in the dishwasher at the same time and a shower was out of the question.) We put in a large (44-panel) solar system 18 months ago, so our electricity bill is zero, so we went with the electric Rheem 80-gallon platinum hybrid model. I had the local propane company pick up our propane tank -- no longer needed. We've had the hybrid model running for 3 weeks so far. Put it on "heat pump" mode. It's slower to recover on this mode, but it uses very little electricity in this mode and has handled our needs fine so far. We've been able to run the washing machine and a shower simultaneously, with my wife running hot water at the sink all at the same time. If you have teenagers who take 30-minute showers, then you might need to switch over to the "hybrid" mode. Was worried about spending $1,800 for a hybrid water heater, but now we are glad we purchased this model. (We are on well water, good quality, little bit of iron but nothing else detrimental, with 55 psi pressure from the pressure pump.) It's a very large unit and has to be transported upright. This was a challenge on our mountain road, but we managed to securely strap it in for the ride home. We have it in a utility room that is only 50 sq ft, but there is venting to the outside in the door and a roof vent. It pulls heat from the air so adequate venting is needed. I want to add another vent that I can open/close when needed to allow the cold air it creates to enter the house during the summer months. Hope this helps.

Great bang for the buck! With $700 in state and federal rebates (in PA), this was a no-brainer. I hate plumbing, so I did pay a friend who is a plumber to install, but he had no issues. Wifi hookup was simple, though it looks like I may have to reconnect anytime my router resets (we had a short power outage and I needed to reconnect). Can't wait to see my electric bill. Love being able to set a schedule so it can be on energy saver all day except for when my family usually takes 3 or 4 back to back showers. It definitely blows out a lot of cold air (I have a large unfinished portion of my basement, and it clearly makes the whole thing cold) - I will be looking at venting the air for next winter. Noise is negligible - picture a fan on low to medium setting. Very happy and impressed!

We installed this hybrid water heater to replace a different brand hybrid water heater we installed 7 years ago that developed a leak and a problem with the heat pump. That first hybrid water heater was one of the early versions and while it worked well for the 7 years, it is obvious that improvements have been made in these units over the years. This Rheem water heater has a much more refined heat pump unit with more sound insulation so it is significantly quieter. It also has a more sophisticated wifi connected control panel. A water should (1) heat water, (2) be as economical as possible and (3) last a long time. This Rheem gets "A" grades on (1) and (3). Only time will tell the grade for (3). It heats water quickly even on the heat pump only setting. As a hybrid water heater it is far cheaper to run than a standard water heater and based on my experience with our previous unit it will quickly pay for itself in electricity savings. The wifi connection even allows the heater to run on a schedule, so I have it set to reduce the water temperature over night so I am not paying to heat water at 2:00 am. I am concerned with how long it will last. Most water heater instructions say to check and change the anode rod as necessary. Of course, almost nobody does that; however when my old heater was removed I checked the anode rod and it was completely used up so it was probably not surprising that the heater had leaked. Surprisingly, the manual for this Rheem says it has an anode, but says nothing about checking or replacing it. Hopefully, Rheem has figured out how to make a tank that doesn't leak within 10 years. Check back in 2030 and I can tell you how it worked out. The only downside to this water heater is that compared to a standard water heater it takes significant plumbing to install it since the connections are on the side not the top. As a hybrid, it also needs a condensate drain connection which if located next to a water softener is not a problem. My heater is connected to a hot water circulation system so has those additional plumbing connections. I am definitely very pleased with this Rheem hybrid water heater and strongly recommend it.

I am thrilled with my purchase of this hybrid hot water heater. I installed it myself using Sharkbite fittings and was able to do it in half a day. Plumber quoted $1200. I love the smartphone app which allows you to set up schedules. If you live in an area with discounted night and weekend rates you could set it to say 130 degrees at night then set it to 120 in the morning. Obviously only do this in houses with no children that might scald themselves. Having said that, I have mine set for 125 and find (you can see actually temperature using the screen on the hot water heater) it is usually around 123 or so. Factor in the travel distance and even set at 130 you are probably safe. For some reason the unit really wants you to put it in "energy saving mode". There are only two of us in the house and with the setting, the elements would come on once or twice a day. With just two of us, I leave it in "heat pump only mode". Then I tell the app to run the temp up to 125 a couple of hours before our daily shower time. Then it goes back down to 120 for the rest of day. Motor is very quiet. Ours is in the basement and doesn't run enough to make a difference in the basement temp. For the first three weeks I had no condensate drainage. Yesterday was our first warm day and I opened the bulkhead door to the basement. In an hour I had a quart or so of condensate. I have a pump on the way but put it off as I had no discharge for three weeks. We are using less than 3 kWh per day, that is with two showers a day, some laundry and running the dishwasher two times. That is amazing.

I purchased this approximately 6 weeks ago and utilized home depot installation services for the install. Install went smoothly and the tech that did the install was very professional. The first month this unit was perfect. We were able to get plenty of hot water for multiple showers for our family of 4 and never noticed a drop in temperature. I also really like the efficiency concept of the heat pump and the mobile app integration is very slick. However, fast forward 6 weeks with absolute no change in settings, we are only getting warm water showers. I have a utility sink in our laundry room, which is 3 feet from the water heater. The measured water temp coming out of that sink is 108° F vs the 122°F we have it set at. Contacted home depot and was routed to the original subcontractor. We get that scheduled, but I'm told that there will be a $50 service call. That just doesn't seem right after the amount of $$$$ I spent on having them install it 6 weeks ago? I really wanted this water heater to work out, but having spent quite a bit of money on this already and having issues 6 weeks into ownership it is very concerning. So, at this point, it's definitely not meeting our expectations. I'll update accordingly.

I've had the 50 gallon unit for about a month now. Most guidelines for water temp settings suggest 120 degrees. That's where I initially set it at. The problem is at that temp I could hardly get one bathtub full before water went dead cold. I had to experiment with water temp at 5 degree intervals until I took it up to 135 degrees to get a comfortable and full bath. So, I'm afraid all the energy savings which they tout will go down the "bathtub drain". I wish I would have bought a traditional water heater and saved $800. Another issue is recovery time. Once I take a bath and use up the hot water it takes well over an hour to reheat the water. As a result, others in the house have to wait an hour to take a bath or shower. My previous water heater, which bit the dust after 20 years, was 32 gallon and I never had any issues with running out of hot water and the recovery time was more like 30 min. My wife makes sure I hear about it every day. I'm not very happy with the Rheem unit but I guess I'm stuck with it. I'll have to get used to getting "Rheemed out" by others in my household.

I had this unit installed for 11 months. One evening after using a lot of hot water, 2 showers, 4 loads of HE hot laundry, I smelled smoke, went into the basement to find this unit smoking from its top, the entire basement was filled with smoke. If I was not home to turn off the circuit breaker, it may have burned down my house. I took the unit out of service, had a NG heater installed. The hybrid unit saved me about $40 a month for the 11 months it worked, so that was good, but the fun ends there.

Three months into this Rheem water heater, and by my calculations, it will pay for itself in five years. I used to use Propane, and with a family of five used about a gallon a day for hot water. That's about $2.54 a day. After three months, my average daily consumption of electricity is 7.1 Kilowatt hours, which in my area equates to about 77 cents a day. Minimum daily consumption has been 0.35 KWh, maximum 16.62 KWh. I paid $3442 for this unit, installed. This includes the extended Home Depot warranty and delivery to the room where it was installed. The extra $130 was well worth it to get this beast delivered into the basement. Installation included running the power lines from the circuit breaker and removing the old tank. My yearly power bill should drop from $927 to around $280. So... from an economical standpoint, it is very worthwhile. Now let's get to the functionality. The Rheem heater comes with a variety of settings, from full heat pump, to hybrid with the heating elements, to only heating elements. The idea would be to tailor the system to the consumption for efficiency and to not run out of hot water. I am running the default hybrid mode, as comfort trumped savings. We did up the temperature from the default 120 to 130, however. At this setting we have never run out of hot water (at least in the last three months). We have a 20 year old son who takes his phone in the shower with him, and a 23 and 26 year old daughter, who also like long showers. The ability to keep the hot water replenished is wonderful. The phone app is entirely convenient to monitor and change settings (if necessary). It's nice to have alerts notify me of any trouble. Though I have not hooked up the leak detector, I believe the app is set to notify you in case of a leak. Really nice if one is not at home when the worst happens. So, with a payback in five years, coupled with a ten year parts warranty and (with the optional extended warranty) five year home protection plan, theoretically, there's no way this won't pay for itself, unless it somehow massively loses efficiency over time. Comfort... efficiency... a manufacturer with a good reputation... I should have done this earlier

I wrote a glowing review for this unit after having it for 9 months. It was saving me nearly $40 a month. It has been 11 months now, one evening I used a lot of hot water, I smelled smoke, went into the basement to find this hot water heater smoking out of the top. I disconnected it, took it out of service immediately and replaced it with a natural gas unit the following day. I liked this unit, it was high tech, and saved money, but not at the expense of nearly burning down my house. It was installed by licensed tradesman.

I purchased the Rheem Performance Platinum 50 gallon water heater last March (2019), but wanted to wait until I had some experience with it before writing a review. Well, the short answer, is that I love it! I installed the unit myself (with the help of a friend) and had no difficulty getting it up and running. I read most reviews/questions on this site before buying the Rheem, so I knew what I was getting into. Our mountain vacation home had an 80 gallon (too large) electric water heater that was very expensive to operate given that I am paying about $0.20/kh to the local electric cooperative. Since we only use the place approximately 25% of the year, it will take longer to reach the $900 payback (I used a $350 rebate), but I'm probably saving about $250/year over my old water heater. I use the heat pump setting (most economical) unless we have more than 4 people staying at the house. I keep the temperature set at 133 degrees. The unit is located in a crawl space under the master bedroom, but it is barely audible. My home does not have an internet connection, so I have yet to try the Rheem wifi connectivity...will have internet sometime later this year, so I'm looking forward to monitoring the system remotely. When vacant, I switch the Rheem to vacation mode. So far, I have had no problems with the Rheem. It does what it is supposed to do. To summarize: Pros: Low operating cost when using the heat pump mode Easy to change settings on unit. Cons: Heavy and difficult to install in tight locations. Water connections are on the side of unit instead of on top...necessary due to heat pump location. Needed to add a condensate line. Expensive without rebates.