Water Heater Installation in Skowhegan, ME
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Skowhegan winters push a water heater hard, most of the year
Ground water coming into your house is already cold before winter even starts, and from September through June, ten months of the year, your water heater is working to make up that difference. Winter nights averaging 7°F mean the tank in your basement or utility closet is fighting harder against the cold around it too.
More than half of Maine households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and Somerset County has seen 137 winter storms and 83 damaging wind events over the past ten years. If you're choosing a new water heater, it's worth asking how it behaves when the power goes out, and for how long. A gas unit with a standing pilot will keep making hot water with no power at all. Any new storage water heater you install also has to meet a federal minimum efficiency standard, and that minimum is set differently depending on the tank's size, so the right number for your home depends on what you're replacing it with.
- 7°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 54%
- of Maine 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
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- Water pooling around the base is the clearest sign, since that means the tank itself is leaking and is not repairable. Rusty or metallic-tasting hot water is another, especially if it happens right when you turn on the tap. If the unit is making rumbling or popping sounds, sediment has built up on the bottom of the tank and is starting to burn through the metal. Once a storage tank is old and showing any of these, replacing it before it fails is worth considering over waiting for a leak.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of your hot water and what your home can support. A tankless unit heats water on demand instead of storing it, so you get continuous hot water as long as the flow rate stays within what the unit can handle. It also takes up much less space than a tank. Switching usually means changes to the gas line, venting, or electrical supply, so a contractor needs to look at your home's setup before you can know if it makes sense there.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is the unit itself, which mounts on a wall instead of sitting on the floor, freeing up the space a tank used to take. Gas-fired tankless units often need a larger gas line than the one feeding a tank, because they draw more gas in short bursts to heat water instantly. Venting is different too, usually running through the wall or roof with pipe rated for the higher exhaust temperatures. Because there is no tank holding a reserve of hot water, the unit also needs a steady power supply to run its ignition and controls, so during a power outage a tankless unit will not produce hot water even though a gas storage tank with a standing pilot would. More than half of Maine households lost power for at least a day in 2024, so that is worth weighing before you switch.