Water Heater Installation in Idaho Falls, ID
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A water heater here needs to keep running through outages
Winter nights in Idaho Falls average 15°F from December through February, and homes here need heat from September through June, ten months a year. Your water heater is working through most of that stretch too, since cold water coming into the house takes more energy to heat than warm water does.
Bonneville County has logged 157 winter storms and 118 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Idaho, 11% of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will relight on its own once power is back. One with an electronic igniter will not, and an electric tank will not heat water at all until power returns. Whatever you install has to meet the federal minimum efficiency set for its size, since the standard is different for every tank volume.
- 15°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?
- If your water heater is old and starting to act up, that's your sign. Watch for water that takes longer to heat, rust-colored water from the hot tap, or water pooling around the base of the tank. A tank that's rusting from the inside will eventually leak, and once that happens it's not a repair. If your water heater is original to the house or you're not sure how old it is, ask a contractor to check it before it fails on its own schedule instead of yours.
- 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 on demand instead of storing it, so you don't run out during a long shower or back-to-back loads of laundry. But it needs enough gas line capacity or electrical capacity to fire at that rate, and venting rules for tankless units are different from a tank, so the install isn't a straight swap in every house. A contractor can look at your gas line, your electrical panel, and where the unit would vent, and tell you whether tankless makes sense for your house specifically.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The water heater stops storing hot water and starts heating it as it flows through, which means the unit itself is smaller and usually goes on a wall instead of taking up floor space. Because it fires at a higher rate than a tank to heat water instantly, it often needs a larger gas line or a dedicated electrical circuit, and its own vent sized for that unit. A permit and inspection are required for the work, and a tankless swap is more likely to need electrical or gas line changes than a straight tank-to-tank replacement, so it's worth asking your contractor what's involved before the job starts.