Water Heater Installation in Colville, WA
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Ten months of heat means ten months on the water heater
Colville needs heat from September through June, and that heater is working the whole time, warming ground-cold water through winter nights that average 21°F. A gas or electric storage tank sized for a house here has to hold up under that kind of year-round demand.
Stevens County sees hard weather. Ten years of records show 319 winter storms and 31 damaging wind events, and power in Washington went out for 24 hours or more in close to a quarter of households last year. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps making hot water through an outage like that. One that runs on electric ignition will not light again until the power does.
A new storage water heater also has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its size and type. That minimum is not one number. It is set by a formula tied to the tank's rated volume, so two tanks of different sizes can face different minimums even if they are the same kind of heater.
- 21°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 23%
- of Washington households lost power for a day or more in 2024, and a heater with an electric element or electric ignition stops without it
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A heat pump water heater would save about $280 a year to run in Washington compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Washington home, from EIA household energy data and Washington fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- Age is the first thing to check, since most tank water heaters have a limited service life and start failing near the end of it. If the tank is leaking from the bottom or rusty water is coming from the hot tap, that's the tank itself failing, not something a repair fixes. Cold showers that shouldn't happen, a pilot or igniter that won't stay lit, or a heater that's noticeably slower to recover between uses are also signs it's on its way out. Replacing a tank once it's showing these signs, rather than waiting for it to fail, means you get to choose the replacement instead of scrambling for one.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want from your hot water and what your home can support. A tankless unit heats water only as you use it, so you don't run out partway through a shower the way you can with a tank, and it takes up less space. But it needs enough gas line capacity or electrical capacity to fire at that rate, and not every house is wired or piped for it as is. A contractor can look at the gas line, venting, and panel and say whether a tankless unit fits the house now or needs upgrades first.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is that hot water doesn't run out. A tank holds a fixed amount and you wait for it to refill. A tankless unit heats water on demand, so a long shower doesn't leave the next person with cold water. It also needs different venting and often a larger gas line or a dedicated electrical circuit than the tank it replaces, since it heats water fast rather than storing it hot in advance. The unit itself mounts on a wall instead of sitting on the floor, which matters in a smaller mechanical room or closet.