Water Heater Installation in Cañon City, CO
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A new water heater has to work nine months of winter conditions
Cañon City needs heat from September through May, nine months of the year, and your water heater works through all of it. Winter nights average 15°F from December through February, which is cold enough that a tank installed in an unheated space has to work harder just to hold its temperature.
Power goes out here too. In Colorado, 13 percent of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and Fremont County has logged 292 winter storms and 165 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage. One with electronic ignition does not, and neither does an electric tank. Whatever you install, the federal minimum efficiency it has to meet is set by a formula based on the tank's rated volume, so a large tank and a small tank of the same type do not face the same number.
- 15°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 9 months
- September through May, the months homes here need heat
- 13%
- of Colorado 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 $370 a year to run in Colorado compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Colorado home, from EIA household energy data and Colorado fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- The clearest sign is age, along with how the tank is behaving. As a tank water heater gets old, the tank itself starts to wear from the inside out. Rusty water, a tank that's leaking or sweating at the seams, or water that never gets as hot as it used to are all signs the tank is failing rather than just a part inside it. If you're calling a plumber out for the same water heater more than once a year, replacing it usually makes more sense than repairing it again.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want from your hot water and what your house 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. Switching usually means changes to the gas line, venting, or electrical circuit, since tankless units draw more power at once than a tank does. A contractor can look at your gas line and venting to tell you what your house would need.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The unit itself is smaller and mounts on a wall instead of taking up floor space, but what's behind the wall often has to change too. Tankless units need a larger gas line than most storage tanks use, because they fire at a much higher rate to heat water instantly. Venting is different as well, usually running through the side wall or roof with pipe rated for the higher exhaust temperature. Some homes also need an upgraded electrical circuit for the unit's controls and ignition. A contractor can check your gas line, venting, and electrical setup before quoting the job.