Water Heater Installation in Rigby, ID
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A water heater in Rigby works most of the year
Homes here need heat from September through June, ten months a year. The water heater carries part of that load the whole time, and winter nights averaging 11°F from December through February mean the water coming into the tank starts out cold. The colder that water is, the harder the tank works to bring it up to temperature.
Power is not guaranteed either. The county has logged 58 winter storms and 144 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and statewide, 11 percent of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps making hot water through an outage like that. Whatever size and type you choose, it has to meet the federal minimum efficiency set for that tank volume, since the standard is written separately for each size rather than as one number for every heater.
- 11°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?
- The clearest sign is water pooling around the base of the tank. Once the tank itself is leaking, the steel has failed inside and no repair fixes that. Rust-colored water, a tank that's rumbling or popping, or a heater that's old and struggling to keep up are the other signs worth acting on. If yours is still working but getting up there in age, replacing it before it fails saves you from a flooded closet or basement on the day it finally gives out.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on the water heater failing. A tankless unit heats water as it runs rather than storing it, so you get endless hot water instead of running out partway through a shower. It also takes a different gas line and venting setup than a tank, so the install is more involved. A contractor can look at your gas supply, venting path, and where the unit would go and tell you what switching actually involves in your house.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is the gas line. Tankless units fire at a much higher rate than a tank does, so many homes need a larger gas line run to the unit to supply it. Venting changes too, since tankless heaters vent differently than a tank and usually need new venting installed rather than reusing what's there. The unit itself mounts on a wall instead of sitting on the floor, which frees up the space the old tank used to take. Any of this work still needs a permit and inspection from the local building office, same as replacing a tank.