We asked a couple of questions that boiled down to what manufacturers did for their customers, and more importantly, what they heard from their customers that, once incorporated, made for a better product. 

“Our product development efforts are guided by our customers’ evolving needs,” said Robert Aldrich, residential segment development leader, A.O. Smith. 

The company regularly solicits customer feedback in a variety of ways, including online reviews, customer visits and data gathered by third-party market research companies. 

“Our recent innovations in leak detection and water shutoff were driven by customer requests,” Aldrich added. “Consumer feedback also played a key role in the development of our advanced Wi-Fi and communication features, app connectivity, temperature set-point and air code delivery.” 

Bradford White Corp.’s Michigan-based customer service center is co-located with its design and manufacturing centers. 

“For new product developments, service team members are included in concept development and design reviews to ensure that customer feedback and ideas are considered and addressed in next generation product offerings,” said Rebecca Owens, senior communications manager, Bradford White. 

Customer feedback is collected across Bradford White’s organization, including in-person regional or factory training events, and contact centers in Michigan as well as in Pennsylvania. 

“Also, customer feedback on any issues related to performance, reliability, quality, etc., are quickly shared with the appropriate teams for consideration and corrective action,” Owens added. “This continuous improvement feedback loop generates quick response to any field issues.” 

As a result, “some of our most valued features have been suggested by many trade professionals,” Owens said, including snap lock draft diverters, brass drain valves and installed T&P values. 

Intellihot follows a continuous process improvement approach, starting from the executive level on down throughout the organization. 

“We constantly collect customer feedback, follow market trends and improve our offerings to better serve customer needs,” said Amy Turner, director of marketing. 

Thanks to this CPI process, Intellihot’s drop-in tankless unit, the Neuron iN199, now comes with an ASME-certified option — called the iN199A. 

“This decision was taken when we found that some of our customers could not find a reliable, ASME-certified tankless water heater under 200,000 BTUs/hour,” Turner explained, “since manufacturers are not mandated to certify units that are below 200,000 BTUs/hour. Even though it is not a regulatory requirement, we still provide this option to satisfy the needs of some customers who prefer having the peace of mind that comes with an ASME certification.”

Customer feedback and the voice of the customer are invaluable, said Chia Lin, product manager, water heaters, Navien, Inc. 

“They have led to many features being built into the product, such as Navien’s on-demand function, the HotButton and easy-to-use, advanced controllers,” Lin added. 

Ashley Pincott, senior product marketing manager for Rheem, said the company regularly consults with professional installers to “ensure simplified and flexible installation and servicing of all water heater designs.” 

She added that this feedback resulted in all service parts and condensate line positioned in the front of the Rheem ProTerra Heat Pump Water, simplifying service and earthquake strap installs. 

“Additionally ProTerra models are the same dimensions as standard water heaters and have zero clearance requirements making installation flexible and perfect for replacement,” Pincott added.

Stiebel Eltron Inc.’s products are always under continual development.

 “Since the beginning of the company the philosophy has always been to make products the best they can be made, then to work to improve them,” said Julius Goodman, head of marketing, Stiebel Eltron. “It makes sense that customer feedback about a product is always considered. How could you make the best products if you didn’t consider how they work for your customers?”

Customization

We also asked about how the companies went about customizing their water heater lines to meet specific requirements or specifications. 

All offered some custom capacity, particularly on the commercial side. Cascading, for example is a common option, according to Lin with Navien’s Ready-Link Racks and manifold kits also available to simplify installations.  

At Bradford White, “water quality, power availability, installation constraints and performance needs all drive the many models and model options offered across our product portfolio,” Owens added. 

The company’s technical staff also stands ready to professional installers to customize products that work best for their region and customer needs, assuring best in class performance and reliability. 

“This is one of the key advantages the professional has over ‘do-it- yourself’ water heater suppliers,” Owens said. 

Intellihot specializes in commercial products that are “purposefully designed with a modular approach, which allows us to scale up or down based on the need very easily,” Turner explained.

 Intellihot customers can size their projects using an online sizing calculator which provides them with multiple options. 

“They are able to convey their specific requirements and choose the best fit,” Turner explained. 

Goodman added that there wasn’t a lot of customization to Stiebel Eltron’s models, if only because “each model was designed to perform superbly for the task it was engineered for.” 

Some point-of-use models can have the hot water set point temperature customized for special applications, but those are all user customizations, Goodman explained, and not factory-ordered options. 

“Our C Series commercial/industrial electric tankless water heaters are a little different in that the range of models and options available can make them essentially appear as custom models for a particular use,” Goodman added. 

Specially engineered for heavy industry, the C Series is available in four different models, in sizes from 12 kW to 144 kW, and in all common three-phase voltages, including 208V, 240, 480 Delta, 480 Wye and 575. A number of performance options can be selected for most of these models, in addition to different enclosure options and some other choices.  

“Ordering the C Series water heater with any special options needed for an application is simple,” Goodman said. “It starts with a few questions about the application need and the infrastructure available at the site. This can be done by filling out a simple form on our website or with a call to our dedicated experts.”