With half a century under its belt, GE® Zoneline® Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTAC) have undergone changes like electronic controls, quieter operation and improved efficiency, which exceed even future standards, as well as a non-ozone depleting refrigerant.
But the real story is what hasn’t changed in this product in the last 50 years—it’s reliable.
“There are first generation Zonelines still working. Two years ago, one of our customers decided to finally replace their 46-year-old Zonelines,” said Jim Benz, marketing manager for air conditioning at GE Appliances. “The Zoneline product has a long tradition of innovation, reliability and performance.”
One of the most impressive innovations is the energy-efficient standards by which the Zoneline operates. It exceeds 2012 standards for efficiency by at least 10 percent according to Benz.
Sold mainly to the hotel and lodging industry, the 42-inch PTAC first introduced in 1961 is now the industry standard, with tens of millions installed across the United States. Zonelines allow guests the ability to control the temperature in their individual room. Best of all, hotels don’t throw away money heating or cooling rooms that are unoccupied.
“For six months or so, our occupancy rate drops to 40 percent. Using the Zoneline ultimately trims our operating costs since we aren’t unnecessarily heating or cooling unused rooms,” said Gary Dick, who built a Holiday Inn Express in 2000.
As the Zoneline arranges the candles on its birthday cake, hotel general managers also have a reason to celebrate the Zoneline’s low operating costs, as well as its ease of replacement. GE PTACs have maintained the same dimensions for 50 years while current models run at about half of the operating cost, making replacing existing products with the newest models a snap for maintenance workers and budget-friendly for management. Dick has only had to replace two out of his 64 original units in 11 years.
It’s Hot & Cold: The Zoneline History
As the interstate system was built across North America in the 1950s, hotels popped up as a traveler’s alternative to traditional downtown hotels.
In the late 1950s, GE worked with customers in this emerging market to develop a heating and air conditioning system for each individual room that reduced construction costs and was easy to maintain or replace. GE, the first manufacturer to work on this type of unit, met these needs with the Zoneline PTAC, which can heat and cool a single “zone” or room.
Popular in the hotel and lodging industry for years, the GE Zoneline has proven itself a great value for decades. “We’ve been an industry leader for 50 years, and have always enjoyed a great reputation for efficiency and performance,” said Benz, who added, “and I’m sure most people wish their dimensions stayed the same over the years like the Zoneline.”