Rheem RTGH-95DVLN Review – Everything You Need To Know

The popularity of tankless water heaters is going through the roof. The first proof came in 2017 when Global Market Insights predicted the global instant water heater market to exceed $15 billion by 2024. Then came the increase in energy prices and rising global emissions.

The general population had no choice but to turn to tankless water heaters like Rheem RTGH-95DVLN. These are models that are pretty clever when it comes to saving energy, are incredibly compact to facilitate their installation in tight spaces, and are easy to operate.

That isn’t where the good news end. This model relies on smart home technology to keep an unshakable lid on its energy consumption. It has a built-in condensate neutralizer that ensures the safety of your household and makes it suitable for indoor installation.

Rheem RTGH-95DVLN Review – Pros and Cons

Here are the positive and negative points of Rheem RTGH-95DVLN:

Rheem RTGH-95DVLN Review – Features

Here are the worth-noting features of Rheem RTGH-95DVLN:  

• EcoNet® Smart Home Technology

  Tankless water heaters don’t typically get a mention when people are talking about smart home devices. Rheem RTGH-95DVLN aims to get into that conversation with its EcoNet Smart Home Technology. Here’s how it proposes to do that. 

This technology relies on EcoNet Mobile App to send timely care and maintenance alerts to your smartphone. The mobile app also has options that let you control the heater’s operation from anywhere in the world. It also gives you weather forecasts so that you can plan for the weather ahead. 

You can even use the app to set flexible heating schedules. Its ‘active monitoring system’ sends alerts to your smartphone anytime the heating equipment needs urgent care. Also on offer is an ‘auto changeover’ function that switches between heating and cooling based on the outside weather.    

• Built-in condensate neutralizer

  Condensate neutralizers are a rare feature to get in tankless water heaters. You’re much more likely to see them installed in industrial boilers. That isn’t to say that they have no utility in household water heating equipment, especially those that rely on natural gas to raise water’s temperature.

The burning of natural gas produces by-products which if released into the drainage will pollute groundwater. These by-products have a pH between 2.9 and 4, which makes them severely acidic and therefore harmful for the aquatic life.

Condensate neutralizers save the aquatic life from the ravages of acidic water by neutralizing water by-products. That is to say that they reduce the acidity of the by-products. They, therefore, make it suitable for the spent water to be disposed of down the drain.     

• Low-flow activation

  Most natural gas tankless water heaters you see on the market have a high-flow activation. This means they only activate their heating chamber once your hot water consumption goes above a certain threshold.  That threshold, in most cases, isn’t less than 1-2 gallons per minute of water.

The Rheem RTGH-95DVLN is different. It has an industry-leading minimum flow rate of 0.26 gallons per minute and a minimum activation flow rate of 0.40 GPM. This ensures that those of you who have low hot water demands can expect this heater to meet them.     

• Hot Start Programming

  Here is another feature that sets RTGH-95DVLN apart from other tankless water heaters. This model doesn’t force you to bear with a cold water burst at the start. It makes sure that you get a supply of hot water the moment you open the faucet.

This model is capable of doing that because if its ability to remain in ‘ready-fire’ state. Back-to-back water needs are met by this system by staying in an operational mode for a few minutes after you have stopped consuming hot water.     

• Self-diagnostic system

  When was the last time you came across a heater that helped you during its installation? This unit does just that thanks to its self-diagnostic system. This feature gives you step-by-step instructions during the installation so that you can get the whole unit up and running quickly.

Does that mean you could install it on your own? You shouldn’t if you’re sane. The installation instructions, though easy to follow, are designed for an expert plumber. You might end up voiding the unit’s warranty if you decide to save a few bucks by installing it on your own.     

• Recirculation pump kit ready

  Critics of tankless water heaters often complain that these units waste too much water to remain useful. Their objection is genuine in some cases but, by making this model ready for a recirculation pump kit (not included in the package), Rheem has come up with an answer to the criticism. 

Recirculation pump kits save water by doing precisely what their name implies. They recirculate spent water through the heater’s tubes so that more and more of it can be heated to the level demanded by the end-user. This helps these kits place a bottom pressure on water wastage.    

• High-altitude capability and Overheat Film Wrap

  Start with the first feature. It enables this tankless water heater to remain useful at altitudes as high as 8,400ft. This might seem to you as a small detail but it’s crucial. Those living in such scenic locations might testify as to why that is the case.

As for the overheat film wrap, it provides two crucial benefits. First, it makes sure that the unit doesn’t heat-up to dangerous temperature levels. Second, it imparts it with the industry-standard clearance of ½ inches, thereby making this unit a cinch to install.   

Final Verdict

Most natural gas tankless water heaters are neither economical nor environmentally friendly. These units consume innumerable BTUs of the fastly-depleting fuel and exhaust dangerous gases into the atmosphere. The Rheem RTGH-95DVLN is different.

Apart from its reliance on the EcoNet Smart Home Technology, this model’s recirculation pump-kit ready design and built-in condensate neutralizer make sure that it weighs as lightly on the environment as it will on your pocket.