Water Heater Installation in Sheridan, WY
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Sheridan County asks a lot of a water heater
Winter nights here average 13°F from December through February, and homes need heat from September through June, ten months a year. The water going into your heater runs cold for most of the time it's working, not just for a few weeks in the deep of winter.
The county has also seen 54 winter storms and 64 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and statewide, 8% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage like that. One with electronic ignition will not light until the power is back. Whichever type goes in, it has to meet a federal efficiency minimum, and that minimum is set by the tank's size and the draw pattern of the home it serves, so the number that applies to yours depends on the household, not just the model.
- 13°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 8%
- of Wyoming 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 $300 a year to run in Wyoming compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Wyoming home, from EIA household energy data and Wyoming fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- If it's leaking from the tank itself, replace it, that's not something that gets patched. Age matters too. Most tank water heaters last about a decade, and past that point the tank is closer to failing than not. Rusty or metallic-tasting hot water, a tank that's noisy from sediment built up on the bottom, or water that never gets as hot as it used to are all signs the tank is on its way out. Winter nights here average 13°F, and a cold snap can push a weak water heater past its limit right when you need it most, so if it's already showing one of these signs, don't wait for winter to make the decision for you.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on whether your current tank is failing. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through, so you don't run out of hot water partway through a shower, and it doesn't sit there keeping a tank of water hot when nobody's using it. What it doesn't do is deliver more gallons per minute than the unit is rated for, so a house that runs two showers and a washing machine at once needs a unit sized for that. A contractor can look at your home's hot water use and tell you whether tankless makes sense here.
- 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, so where it goes in the house usually changes. It also needs venting and gas or electric supply sized for its output, which is different from what the old tank used, so the connections at the wall are rarely a straight swap. Because it heats on demand rather than storing water, it can supply hot water for as long as you need it, but only up to the flow rate it's built for. A contractor will look at your gas line, venting, and water use to say what the install actually involves in your house.