Water Heater Installation in Washington, MO
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What a Franklin County winter asks of a water heater
Winter nights here average 24°F from December through February, and your water heater is pulling in cold groundwater the whole time. The colder the water coming in, the harder the unit works to bring it up to temperature, and that load runs seven months a year here, October through April.
Power is worth planning around too. Missouri saw 19% of households go at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and Franklin County has logged 9 winter storms and 72 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep making hot water through an outage. One with electric ignition won't light until the power is back, though most units start back up on their own once it does.
Whatever you install has to clear the federal efficiency minimum, which is not one number. It is set by a formula based on the tank's rated volume, and that formula is applied separately across four different draw patterns, so tanks of different sizes answer to different minimums.
- 24°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 19%
- of Missouri 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 $270 a year to run in Missouri compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Missouri home, from EIA household energy data and Missouri fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- Look at the age first. A contractor can tell you the expected life for your specific tank, and once a unit is past that point, trouble is more likely to keep coming back than go away for good. Rusty water from the hot tap, a tank that's rusting on the outside, or water pooling underneath are signs the tank itself is failing, and a leaking tank means replacement, not repair. If it's making a low rumbling sound, sediment has built up on the bottom, and that both wastes fuel and shortens what life the tank has left. A unit that can't keep up anymore, runs out of hot water fast, or needs a repair called on it every year is usually cheaper to replace than to keep patching.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on your current unit failing. A tankless unit heats water only when you open a hot tap, so it doesn't hold a standing tank of hot water waiting to be used, and it won't run out the way a tank does partway through back to back showers. It takes up much less space than a tank, which matters if you're tight on room in a closet or utility area. The tradeoff is that a tankless unit needs enough gas supply or electrical capacity to fire at a higher rate than a tank ever did, so the house has to be able to support that. A contractor can look at your gas line or panel and tell you what your house can take.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is what's connected to it. A gas tankless unit needs a larger gas line than a tank heater typically used, because it has to bring a lot of heat to the water fast rather than warming it slowly over hours. Venting changes too, since tankless units usually vent differently than a standard tank, often through a dedicated line rather than a shared flue. An electric tankless unit needs enough amperage on the panel to run it, which an older panel may not have. None of this means a tankless unit won't work in your house. It means a contractor has to check the gas line, the vent path, and the electrical panel before install, not after.