Water Heater Installation in Everett, WA
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A water heater in Everett works nearly year round
Winter nights here average 30°F from December through June through September, homes are calling for heat, and the water heater is working right alongside the furnace, warming water that comes into the tank colder than it would in summer. That is most of the year, not just a few months.
Sizing matters more than people expect. The federal minimum efficiency for a storage water heater is not one number. It is set by the tank's rated volume and figured separately across four draw patterns, so two tanks of the same type but different sizes have to meet different minimums. Getting the size right for the household is part of getting the efficiency right.
- 30°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?
- The clearest sign is age combined with trouble. Once a tank gets old, water pooling at the base, rusty water, or a tank that takes longer to heat water than it used to all point to a unit near its end. A leak at the tank itself, not a fitting, means the tank is failing from the inside and needs replacing, not patching. If yours is still running fine and shows none of these signs, there's no reason to replace it early.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on your current heater being broken. A tankless unit heats water on demand instead of storing it, so you don't run out of hot water partway through a shower and it doesn't sit there heating water you're not using. It also takes different venting and gas or electric supply than a tank does, so switching is a bigger job than a straight replacement. A contractor can look at your home's setup and tell you what changes it would take.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The unit itself is smaller and mounts on a wall instead of standing on the floor, which frees up space in whatever closet or corner it's in. It needs its own venting, sized for that unit, and often needs an upgraded gas line or electrical circuit to supply the burst of energy it uses to heat water instantly. Because there's no tank, it also won't run out of hot water, but the flow rate at any one time is limited by the unit's capacity, so running two showers and a dishwasher at once may push it harder than a tank would. A contractor can check your home's gas, electric, and venting before installing to make sure it's sized right.