Water heaters
GE Profile GeoSpring Smart Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 80 gal
Installed price varies more between contractors and local labor markets than between brands. Get more than one quote, especially for a heat pump water heater that needs electrical work.
80-gallon version of the same Profile GeoSpring Smart Hybrid platform as the 50-gallon model -- same UEF 4.50, larger first-hour rating.
Our take
The three exact-model owner reports are encouraging but too few for a reliability verdict. The most detailed household had five adults, two children and a recirculation pump, yet stayed in Eco mode without running short. That owner also reported intermittent Wi-Fi and more compressor drone than expected.
Best for
Larger households wanting the most efficient HPWH on paper, from the same dealer-network channel as the 50-gallon.
Watch out for
Only two of the three captured reports were detailed enough for the usable corpus. Check noise, Wi-Fi reach and service access before placing the 57.2-inch tank near living space.
Compare against
GE Profile GeoSpring Smart Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 50 gal
GE's flagship heat pump water heater, relaunched under the Profile line with FlexCAPACITY mixing and Wi-Fi control. ENERGY STAR-certified at UEF 4.50 -- the highest efficiency figure in this catalogue at any size.
Rheem ProTerra Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 50 gal
The default heat pump water heater for most US households: 50 gallons, UEF 3.75, widely stocked and widely serviced.
Rheem ProTerra Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 80 gal
80-gallon version of the ProTerra, UEF 4.0 — the highest efficiency in the mainstream heat pump water heater market.
A. O. Smith ProLine XE Voltex AL (HPTS-66) Heat Pump Water Heater, 66 gal
66-gallon heat pump water heater with a UEF of 4.02 -- among the highest in our water heater set, just behind GE's Profile GeoSpring Smart Hybrid at 4.50. Sold under A. O. Smith's 'ProLine XE Voltex AL / Smart Hybrid' line — a different, retail-exclusive 'Signature Series' name is used for a different model-number family at Lowe's, so don't cross-shop the names.
Before you buy this
Ask for the first-hour rating, not just tank size, and check it against your household's simultaneous demand — showers and laundry at the same time — rather than headcount alone. If it's a heat pump water heater, confirm the room has enough air volume (or a duct kit) that it won't spend winter on resistance backup, and that there's a real route for condensate, not just a nearby floor drain. Confirm the panel has spare 240V capacity. And if you're removing a gas unit that shared a flue with a furnace, ask what happens to that flue once your water heater's draft is gone — an orphaned flue can backdraft.