Water Heater Installation in Pullman, WA
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Nine months of heating puts a new water heater to work early
Pullman needs heat from September through May. That is nine months where the water heater is not just handling showers and the dishwasher, it is also feeding a furnace or boiler system if the home uses one for hot water. Winter nights average 27°F, and cold ground and cold supply lines mean the tank has to work harder to bring water up to temperature.
Winter storms are common here, with 58 recorded over the past ten years and 27 damaging wind events in the same stretch. Power loss is not rare in Washington generally, and a gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep working through an outage, while one with electric ignition will not light until power is back. Whichever type goes in, it has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its size, which is set separately depending on the tank's rated volume.
- 27°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 9 months
- September through May, 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, along with how the tank is failing. A repair can fix a bad heating element or a faulty valve, but water pooling around the base or rusty water at the tap means the tank itself is going, and that's not something to patch. A tank that's making noise when it heats is another sign the inside is wearing out. Homes here need heat from September through May, so a water heater that fails in the middle of that stretch is worse timing than most, and it's worth having a contractor check yours before it fails on its own schedule.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on whether tankless is better outright. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through instead of storing it, so you don't run out partway through a shower, and it takes up far less space than a tank. It also costs more to install than a tank of the same capacity, and it needs a gas line or electrical circuit sized for the job, which isn't always what's already at the house. A contractor can look at your existing setup and tell you what switching would actually involve.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The water heater stops holding a reserve of hot water and heats it on demand instead. That means no standby heat loss from a tank sitting full between uses, and no wait for a tank to refill after a long shower. It also means the unit needs enough gas flow or electrical capacity to heat water fast, since the work happens in the moment instead of ahead of time. Venting is different too, since a tankless unit vents on its own rather than sharing a flue the way some tank models do. A contractor will need to check the gas line, electrical panel, and venting to see what has to change for the house.