Water Heater Installation in Conway, AR
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What a new water heater faces in Faulkner County
Winter nights here average 32°F from December through February, and incoming water is coldest just when the six-month heating season is asking the most of every appliance in the house. A water heater has to work harder to bring that colder water up to temperature.
Power is not guaranteed to stay on. Nearly a quarter of Arkansas households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and the last ten years brought 13 winter storms and 90 damaging wind events to the state. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep making hot water through an outage. One with electronic ignition will not light until power is back. Whatever gets installed, it has to meet the federal minimum efficiency set for its tank size, since the standard is not one number but a separate minimum for each size and draw pattern.
- 32°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 6 months
- November through April, the months homes here need heat
- 24%
- of Arkansas 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 $290 a year to run in Arkansas compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Arkansas home, from EIA household energy data and Arkansas fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- The clearest sign is water that no longer gets consistently hot, or a tank that shows rust in the water or around its base. Once a tank water heater gets old, a leak can start anytime, so rust or moisture at the base is not something to wait on. Popping or rumbling sounds mean sediment has built up inside the tank, and that shortens what's left of its life. If you're calling a plumber for the same heater more than once a year, replacing it usually makes more sense than another repair.
- 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 it doesn't run out during back to back showers the way a tank can. It needs a gas line and venting sized for it, or an electrical circuit sized for it, so switching from a tank often means changes to both. A licensed contractor can look at your gas line, venting or electrical panel and tell you what your house would need.
- 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 heater can run out if too many things draw hot water at once, while a tankless unit heats water as it flows, so it keeps up as long as you stay under its rated flow. That rating also means the unit has to be sized to your home's fixtures, not just swapped in place of the old tank. Venting and gas or electrical supply usually need to be matched to the new unit too, which is why this is a job for a licensed contractor rather than a straight swap.