Water Heater Installation in Coeur d'Alene, ID
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A water heater that has to work most of the year
Homes here need heat from September through June, ten months a year, and a new water heater is working the same months, pulling in cold groundwater while winter nights average 25°F. That is most of the year spent bringing water up to temperature, not just a stretch in the coldest months.
Kootenai County has logged 655 winter storms and 68 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Idaho, 11% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage like that. One with electronic ignition does not, and neither does an electric tank. Whatever you install also has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its size, which is set separately for each tank volume rather than as one number across the board.
- 25°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 11%
- of Idaho 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 $350 a year to run in Idaho compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Idaho home, from EIA household energy data and Idaho 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. Most tank water heaters are built to last a decade or so, and once yours is getting up there, a repair is often just a delay before the next one. Watch for water pooling around the base, a tank that's making rumbling or popping noises, or hot water that runs out faster than it used to. Rust-colored water from the hot tap points to corrosion inside the tank itself, and that doesn't get better. If your unit is old and showing any of these signs, replacing it before it fails is worth doing on your own schedule instead of during a leak.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it. 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 takes up a fraction of the space a tank does. The tradeoff is that installation is more involved, since tankless units often need larger gas lines or dedicated electrical circuits and different venting than what's already in place. A contractor can look at your home's setup and tell you what switching would actually require.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The unit itself is smaller, usually mounted on a wall instead of standing on the floor, which frees up space in a closet or utility room. Behind that, the connections often change too. Gas tankless units typically need a larger gas line than a tank uses, because they draw more gas at the moment they're heating water. Venting is different as well, since tankless units use their own vent type rather than the standard flue a tank relies on. Electric tankless units may need a dedicated circuit sized for the unit. A contractor evaluating your home will check the gas line, venting, and electrical before installation to see what needs to be added or changed.