Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing Join Texas Gas Service in Offering Substantial Rebates to Austin Residents.

2012-06-28

Austin-area residents can receive $900 in rebates toward the purchase of a Rheem tankless water heater until September 30, 2012.

AUSTIN, TEXAS, June 28, 2012—Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing Inc. have teamed up and are working with Texas Gas Service to offer Austin-area homeowners a comprehensive rebate for high-efficiency tankless natural gas water heaters. Texas Gas Service already provides a $600 limited-time rebate toward the purchase of a tankless or super-high-efficiency natural gas water heater through September 30, 2012. During this time, Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing will each provide $150 in rebates for the purchase of a Rheem tankless water heater. Combined, these rebates lower the cost for a tankless installation by $900 — taking the total price for the unit and installation from about $3,495 to approximately $2,595.

“Texas Gas Service’s rebate is impressive, as it’s double the rebate amount they’ve offered in the past. Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing realized we could also make a considerable impact on the program by offering our own instant rebates,” said Mike Siuda, director of tankless sales and marketing for Rheem. “Combined, our rebates lower the upfront investment for a tankless water heater by about 25 percent, which is a tremendous advantage to a homeowner.”

Since water heating can account for up to 17 percent of a home’s energy usage (Source: U.S. Department of Energy), homeowners that employ environmentally friendly water heaters can significantly conserve energy—ultimately lowering their monthly utility bills. Tankless water heaters are efficient choices because they use energy to heat water only as it is needed, so no energy is wasted while there is no demand for hot water. By comparison, most conventional tank water heaters continually heat and re-heat 40 to 50 gallons of water each day—even when homeowners aren’t home or are not using it.

In addition to the energy savings, tankless water heaters are designed to enhance a family’s lifestyle. They provide all the hot water necessary for multi-tasking; so the laundry, dishes and showers can happen all at the same time without running out of hot water. Plus, consumers appreciate tankless water heaters’ space-saving size. About the size of a medicine cabinet, tankless units help homeowners regain extra inches of precious “real estate” in a home—providing additional storage space in a basement, garage, laundry room or closet.

“We’ve seen more customers make inquiries about tankless water heaters in the past few years because these units can provide continuous hot water in a small, space-saving, energy-efficient package,” said Nick Gabriel, operations manager for Clarke Kent Plumbing. “Our rebate initiative with Rheem and Texas Gas Service will really appeal to Austin’s eco-conscious residents that have been considering going tankless for a while, but maybe have hesitated due to the upfront cost.”

Texas Gas Service, Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing will be on-hand at the Sustainable Food Center’s Farmers’ Market in Downtown Austin on Saturday, June 30, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The companies will be raffling off one Rheem Prestige™ Series Condensing Tankless Water Heater to a lucky farmers’ market attendee that day. Operating at 94 percent thermal efficiency, the Rheem Prestige Series Condensing Tankless Water Heater is Rheem’s most efficient tankless water heater to-date. This unit earned recognition on This Old House magazine’s 2011 list of Top 100 Best New Home Products. For more information, please visit www.sfcfarmersmarket.org.

Texas Gas Service’s rebate is valid for qualified customers within the Austin, Sunset Valley, Rollingwood, West Lake Hills, Kyle and Cedar Park city limits for both new installations and replacements in either new or existing homes. For more information, please see www.TexasGasService.com/Rebates.

To learn more about the $300 in rebates offered from Rheem and Clarke Kent Plumbing, please visit www.clarkekentplumbing.com or call 512-477-2200; some exclusions apply.

About Rheem (www.rheem.com)
In its 87th year of operation, Rheem is the only manufacturer in North America delivering advanced, energy efficient heating, cooling and water heating solutions to homes and businesses everywhere. The company’s premium brands include Rheem, Raypak, Ruud and Richmond. Rheem is headquartered in Atlanta and it has U.S. operations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina. Rheem is a primary sponsor of Richard Childress Racing’s® (RCR) No. 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series® car, driven by Kevin Harvick; a co-sponsor with Menards® of RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet, driven by Paul Menard, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series®; and a primary sponsor of Eddie Sharp Racing’s® No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado, driven by Cale Gale, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series®.

About Texas Gas Service
Texas Gas Service provides natural gas service to more than 600,000 customers in the state of Texas. It is a division of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE), a diversified energy company. ONEOK (pronounced ONE-AOK) is the general partner and owns 43.4 percent of ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS), one of the largest publicly traded limited partnerships, which is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. and owns one of the nation’s premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers. ONEOK is among the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, serving more than 2 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Its energy services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S. ONEOK is a Fortune 500 company and is included in the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Stock Index.

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