HVAC
Brand Use Study for WATER HEATERS
Survey Years:Quality Rating
Awareness & Use
About the Study
Quality Rating
How do you rate the QUALITY of each brand you are familiar with?
| Census Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
| Whirlpool | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
| A.O. Smith | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Bosch | 4.1 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
| GE | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
| Rheem | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Ruud | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Bradford White | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Maytag | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| State Industries | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| Takagi | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.7 | |
| Noritz | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| Average Sale Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $125K | $125K-$199K | $200K-$349K | $350K+ | |
| Whirlpool | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| A.O. Smith | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Bosch | 4.7 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| GE | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Rheem | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Ruud | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| Bradford White | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.9 |
| Maytag | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | |
| State Industries | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
| Takagi | 3.2 | 4.7 | 3.2 | |
| Noritz | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.3 |
| Units Built | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 5-49 | 50+ | |
| Whirlpool | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| A.O. Smith | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Bosch | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| GE | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Rheem | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Ruud | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Bradford White | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Maytag | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
| State Industries | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| Takagi | 4.0 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| Noritz | 4.0 | 2.6 | 3.9 |
Select Detail Statistics:
Brand Familiarity
Which brands have you HEARD OF?
| Census Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 290.0 | 42.0 | 30.0 | 149.0 | 68.0 |
| GE | 64.0% | 48.0% | 33.0% | 71.0% | 72.0% |
| Rheem | 63.0% | 43.0% | 63.0% | 69.0% | 62.0% |
| A.O. Smith | 62.0% | 69.0% | 70.0% | 61.0% | 57.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 60.0% | 45.0% | 47.0% | 68.0% | 57.0% |
| Ruud | 48.0% | 36.0% | 50.0% | 53.0% | 43.0% |
| Whirlpool | 44.0% | 38.0% | 23.0% | 48.0% | 49.0% |
| Maytag | 43.0% | 31.0% | 30.0% | 46.0% | 49.0% |
| Bosch | 37.0% | 29.0% | 30.0% | 41.0% | 35.0% |
| Bradford White | 37.0% | 48.0% | 40.0% | 36.0% | 31.0% |
| State Industries | 32.0% | 31.0% | 27.0% | 35.0% | 29.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 21.0% | 19.0% | 23.0% | 22.0% | 21.0% |
| Takagi | 17.0% | 17.0% | 13.0% | 16.0% | 22.0% |
| Noritz | 16.0% | 17.0% | 10.0% | 15.0% | 22.0% |
| none of these | 1.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% |
| indicated at least one | 94.0% | 90.0% | 90.0% | 95.0% | 94.0% |
| no answer | 6.0% | 7.0% | 10.0% | 4.0% | 6.0% |
| Average Sale Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $125K | $125K-$199K | $200K-$349K | $350K+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 13.0 | 50.0 | 93.0 | 130.0 |
| GE | 54.0% | 68.0% | 60.0% | 65.0 |
| Rheem | 62.0% | 64.0% | 58.0% | 65.0 |
| A.O. Smith | 54.0% | 60.0% | 58.0% | 67.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 62.0% | 64.0% | 57.0% | 59.0 |
| Ruud | 54.0% | 54.0% | 47.0% | 45.0 |
| Whirlpool | 54.0% | 50.0% | 45.0% | 41.0 |
| Maytag | 46.0% | 54.0% | 42.0% | 38.0 |
| Bosch | 46.0% | 38.0% | 32.0% | 39.0 |
| Bradford White | 46.0% | 42.0% | 33.0% | 37.0 |
| State Industries | 23.0% | 32.0% | 38.0% | 29.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 8.0% | 20.0% | 19.0% | 25.0 |
| Takagi | 8.0% | 22.0% | 18.0% | 16.0 |
| Noritz | 15.0% | 20.0% | 15.0% | 16.0 |
| none of these | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2.0 |
| indicated at least one | 92.0% | 94.0% | 94.0% | 94.0 |
| no answer | 8.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 5.0 |
| Units Built | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 5-49 | 50+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 113.0 | 125.0 | 50.0 |
| GE | 59.0% | 67.0% | 66.0% |
| Rheem | 61.0% | 65.0% | 60.0% |
| A.O. Smith | 61.0% | 63.0% | 62.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 51.0% | 65.0% | 66.0% |
| Ruud | 43.0% | 50.0% | 52.0% |
| Whirlpool | 36.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| Maytag | 38.0% | 46.0% | 48.0% |
| Bosch | 28.0% | 42.0% | 44.0% |
| Bradford White | 35.0% | 37.0% | 40.0% |
| State Industries | 26.0% | 37.0% | 34.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 16.0% | 27.0% | 20.0% |
| Takagi | 10.0% | 23.0% | 20.0% |
| Noritz | 13.0% | 17.0% | 22.0% |
| none of these | 1.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% |
| indicated at least one | 92.0% | 96.0% | 92.0% |
| no answer | 7.0% | 4.0% | 6.0% |
Bases for Quality Rating
What are the BASES FOR QUALITY RATING?
| Census Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
| A.O. Smith | 135.0 | 24.0 | 19.0 | 67.0 | 25.0 |
| Rheem | 100.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 63.0 | 18.0 |
| GE | 81.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 49.0 | 19.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 64.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 37.0 | 15.0 |
| Bradford White | 54.0 | 12.0 | 5.0 | 28.0 | 9.0 |
| Ruud | 54.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 36.0 | 7.0 |
| State Industries | 47.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 30.0 | 5.0 |
| Whirlpool | 47.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 31.0 | 9.0 |
| Maytag | 40.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 22.0 | 9.0 |
| Bosch | 30.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 20.0 | 7.0 |
| Noritz | 19.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 7.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 19.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 3.0 |
| Takagi | 14.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Average Sale Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $125K | $125K-$199K | $200K-$349K | $350K+ | |
| A.O. Smith | 6.0 | 26.0 | 38.0 | 64.0 |
| Rheem | 5.0 | 22.0 | 28.0 | 43.0 |
| GE | 5.0 | 18.0 | 23.0 | 34.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 4.0 | 18.0 | 14.0 | 27.0 |
| Bradford White | 4.0 | 15.0 | 12.0 | 23.0 |
| Ruud | 4.0 | 17.0 | 14.0 | 19.0 |
| State Industries | 2.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 19.0 |
| Whirlpool | 4.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 | 19.0 |
| Maytag | 3.0 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 16.0 |
| Bosch | 3.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 |
| Noritz | 1.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 0.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 |
| Takagi | 0.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| Units Built | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 5-49 | 50+ | |
| A.O. Smith | 52.0 | 61.0 | 21.0 |
| Rheem | 33.0 | 47.0 | 18.0 |
| GE | 26.0 | 40.0 | 14.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 14.0 | 36.0 | 13.0 |
| Bradford White | 21.0 | 23.0 | 10.0 |
| Ruud | 13.0 | 30.0 | 11.0 |
| State Industries | 14.0 | 27.0 | 6.0 |
| Whirlpool | 10.0 | 29.0 | 8.0 |
| Maytag | 8.0 | 24.0 | 8.0 |
| Bosch | 6.0 | 17.0 | 7.0 |
| Noritz | 4.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 4.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
| Takagi | 1.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 |
Brands Used the Most
Which brand(s) does your firm USE THE MOST?
| Census Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 290.0 | 42.0 | 30.0 | 149.0 | 68.0 |
| did not indicate used most | 30.0% | 24.0% | 37.0% | 32.0% | 26.0% |
| A.O. Smith | 29.0% | 33.0% | 40.0% | 27.0% | 28.0% |
| Rheem | 16.0% | 12.0% | 7.0% | 17.0% | 21.0% |
| GE | 13.0% | 7.0% | 0.0% | 13.0% | 21.0% |
| Bradford White | 9.0% | 17.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| none of these | 7.0% | 17.0% | 7.0% | 5.0% | 7.0% |
| Whirlpool | 7.0% | 5.0% | 0.0% | 7.0% | 9.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 6.0% | 7.0% | 3.0% | 5.0% | 10.0% |
| Ruud | 6.0% | 7.0% | 3.0% | 8.0% | 3.0% |
| State Industries | 6.0% | 10.0% | 7.0% | 5.0% | 4.0% |
| Maytag | 3.0% | 2.0% | 3.0% | 2.0% | 4.0% |
| Bosch | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 6.0% |
| Noritz | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.0% | 0.0% |
| Takagi | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% |
| indicated at least one | 61.0% | 60.0% | 50.0% | 62.0% | 65.0% |
| no answer | 2.0% | 0.0% | 7.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Average Sale Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $125K | $125K-$199K | $200K-$349K | $350K+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 13.0 | 50.0 | 93.0 | 130.0 |
| did not indicate used most | 31.0% | 36.0% | 28.0% | 28.0 |
| A.O. Smith | 23.0% | 24.0% | 31.0% | 31.0 |
| Rheem | 15.0% | 16.0% | 16.0% | 15.0 |
| GE | 15.0% | 16.0% | 13.0% | 12.0 |
| Bradford White | 8.0% | 12.0% | 8.0% | 8.0 |
| none of these | 8.0% | 2.0% | 6.0% | 9.0 |
| Whirlpool | 15.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% | 5.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 15.0% | 8.0% | 4.0% | 6.0 |
| Ruud | 8.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% | 5.0 |
| State Industries | 0.0% | 6.0% | 9.0% | 4.0 |
| Maytag | 0.0% | 6.0% | 3.0% | 2.0 |
| Bosch | 0.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0 |
| Noritz | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 1.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 2.0 |
| Takagi | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.0 |
| indicated at least one | 62.0% | 58.0% | 63.0% | 62.0 |
| no answer | 0.0% | 4.0% | 2.0% | 1.0 |
| Units Built | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 5-49 | 50+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 113.0 | 125.0 | 50.0 |
| did not indicate used most | 24.0% | 32.0% | 36.0% |
| A.O. Smith | 35.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% |
| Rheem | 18.0% | 13.0% | 18.0% |
| GE | 15.0% | 14.0% | 6.0% |
| Bradford White | 12.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| none of these | 9.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| Whirlpool | 3.0% | 10.0% | 8.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 4.0% | 10.0% | 2.0% |
| Ruud | 5.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| State Industries | 5.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Maytag | 2.0% | 5.0% | 0.0% |
| Bosch | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4.0% |
| Noritz | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 1.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| Takagi | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% |
| indicated at least one | 66.0% | 61.0% | 52.0% |
| no answer | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4.0% |
Brands Used in Past 2 Years
Which brands has your firm USED IN THE PAST 2 YEARS in the homes you've built (including brands you subcontracted with others to install)?
| Census Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 290.0 | 42.0 | 30.0 | 149.0 | 68.0 |
| A.O. Smith | 44.0% | 50.0% | 57.0% | 41.0% | 41.0% |
| Rheem | 32.0% | 29.0% | 23.0% | 35.0% | 32.0% |
| GE | 26.0% | 19.0% | 7.0% | 26.0% | 35.0% |
| Bradford White | 16.0% | 29.0% | 13.0% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 16.0% | 17.0% | 3.0% | 16.0% | 19.0% |
| Ruud | 16.0% | 14.0% | 10.0% | 19.0% | 13.0% |
| State Industries | 14.0% | 17.0% | 7.0% | 16.0% | 10.0% |
| Whirlpool | 12.0% | 12.0% | 0.0% | 13.0% | 16.0% |
| did not indicate past use | 10.0% | 7.0% | 13.0% | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| Maytag | 8.0% | 7.0% | 10.0% | 5.0% | 13.0% |
| Bosch | 6.0% | 5.0% | 3.0% | 6.0% | 7.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 4.0% | 2.0% | 7.0% | 5.0% | 1.0% |
| none of these | 3.0% | 10.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 3.0% |
| Noritz | 2.0% | 2.0% | 3.0% | 1.0% | 3.0% |
| Takagi | 1.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| indicated at least one | 82.0% | 76.0% | 77.0% | 85.0% | 81.0% |
| no answer | 5.0% | 7.0% | 10.0% | 3.0% | 6.0% |
| Average Sale Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $125K | $125K-$199K | $200K-$349K | $350K+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 13.0 | 50.0 | 93.0 | 130.0 |
| A.O. Smith | 31.0% | 40.0% | 42.0% | 48.0 |
| Rheem | 46.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 32.0 |
| GE | 31.0% | 26.0% | 22.0% | 28.0 |
| Bradford White | 23.0% | 16.0% | 13.0% | 18.0 |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 23.0% | 20.0% | 11.0% | 16.0 |
| Ruud | 23.0% | 22.0% | 18.0% | 12.0 |
| State Industries | 0.0% | 14.0% | 18.0% | 12.0 |
| Whirlpool | 23.0% | 10.0% | 12.0% | 13.0 |
| did not indicate past use | 8.0% | 10.0% | 12.0% | 8.0 |
| Maytag | 15.0% | 10.0% | 5.0% | 8.0 |
| Bosch | 15.0% | 4.0% | 3.0% | 8.0 |
| Rinnai Continuum | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 7.0 |
| none of these | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 6.0 |
| Noritz | 8.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 2.0 |
| Takagi | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 2.0 |
| indicated at least one | 85.0% | 84.0% | 81.0% | 82.0 |
| no answer | 8.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 4.0 |
| Units Built | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 5-49 | 50+ | |
| base: BUILDER builders (multiple answers) | 113.0 | 125.0 | 50.0 |
| A.O. Smith | 44.0% | 43.0% | 44.0% |
| Rheem | 32.0% | 34.0% | 26.0% |
| GE | 24.0% | 31.0% | 14.0% |
| Bradford White | 19.0% | 14.0% | 12.0% |
| Kenmore (Sears) | 12.0% | 22.0% | 8.0% |
| Ruud | 11.0% | 21.0% | 18.0% |
| State Industries | 11.0% | 16.0% | 16.0% |
| Whirlpool | 9.0% | 17.0% | 10.0% |
| did not indicate past use | 9.0% | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| Maytag | 5.0% | 13.0% | 2.0% |
| Bosch | 4.0% | 9.0% | 4.0% |
| Rinnai Continuum | 4.0% | 6.0% | 0.0% |
| none of these | 4.0% | 2.0% | 6.0% |
| Noritz | 3.0% | 0.0% | 4.0% |
| Takagi | 1.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| indicated at least one | 81.0% | 86.0% | 70.0% |
| no answer | 6.0% | 4.0% | 6.0% |
Purpose
The findings cited in this report are based on a survey sponsored by Hanley-Wood, LLC, on behalf of their publication, BUILDER.
The purpose of this research project was to provide the editors and advertisers with a profile of the brands used by builders in the BUILDER audience. Specific areas of inquiry included:
- The number and average sale price of residential units built by respondents' firms in 2004.
- Respondents' familiarity with, use of, and opinions about brands in 69 product categories.
- The one brand within each category respondents feel is best at communicating with them.
The survey sample of 6,250 was selected in systematic fashion by Palm Coast Data, Inc., and Readex from BUILDER's domestic, qualified "builder" circulation of approximately 125,000 recipients at the time of sample selection.
Five versions of an 8-page questionnaire were designed jointly by BUILDER and Readex. Each version contained two questions common to all versions, with the remaining brand-specific questions unique to each.
Data was collected via mail survey from October 18 to December 11, 2000. To ensure the value of this brand use data to manufacturers, the findings cited in this report are based on the 2,247 respondents who indicated their firms built residential units in 2000 (36% of the survey sample).
The margin of error for percentages based on all 2,247 usable responses is ±2.0% at the 95% confidence level. The margin of error for percentages based on smaller sample sizes—census regions, for example— will be larger.
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