Water Heater Installation in Alexandria, VA
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Alexandria winters put a new water heater to work early
Winter nights here average 29°F from December through February, and homes run their heat from October through April, seven months of the year. That means the water heater is working harder too, since incoming water is colder for most of the year and the tank has to make up more ground before it reaches the tap.
Power outages are part of the picture here as well. Nearly a quarter of Virginia households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024, and the region has logged 8 winter storms and 31 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Gas water heaters with standing pilots keep working through an outage. Electric ones and gas heaters with electronic ignition come back on their own once power returns. Whatever size or type goes in, it has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its category, which is set separately for each tank size and draw pattern rather than one number for every heater.
- 29°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 22%
- of Virginia 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 $320 a year to run in Virginia compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Virginia home, from EIA household energy data and Virginia fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- The clearest sign is water that isn't as hot as it used to be, or that runs out faster than it did a year ago. Rust colored water from the hot tap, or rust around the tank's fittings, means the tank itself is corroding from the inside. A popping or rumbling sound during heating comes from sediment built up on the bottom of the tank, and once that sediment layer is thick the tank works harder and wears faster. Water pooling underneath the tank means it's leaking, and a leaking tank needs to be replaced, not repaired. Most storage tanks last a decade or so, so if yours is getting close to that age and showing any of these signs, it's worth having a contractor look at it before it fails outright.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on your house needing to fail first. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through rather than storing it, so you don't run out of hot water partway through a shower or during back to back loads of laundry. It also doesn't sit there heating a full tank of water around the clock when nobody's using it. Winters here run cold, December through February averaging 29 degrees at night, and incoming water is colder in winter, which means a tankless unit works harder to hit the same output temperature during those months. A contractor can tell you what size unit your household's hot water use calls for and whether your gas line or electrical service can support it.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is that hot water becomes limited by flow rate instead of tank size. A tank can run out if too many things draw hot water at once, a tankless unit instead has a maximum rate it can heat water at, so running a shower and the dishwasher at the same time may stretch it. Gas fired tankless units typically need a larger gas line and a dedicated vent than a tank did, since they draw more gas at the moment they're firing. Electric tankless units often need more electrical capacity than a home's panel currently has. There's also no tank standing by, so a power outage or gas interruption stops hot water immediately rather than leaving you a tank's worth to use up. A contractor can walk through what your home's gas line, venting, or electrical panel would need to support the switch.