Cost for installed hot water heater here? (Largo: appliances, how much)

[Sunnydee]

Good morning. Our gas hot water heater punked out last night, so we need a new one. I looked online and found three estimates, $400.00, $738.00, and $1400.00. I have no clue how much it should cost here. Where we used to live, gas hot water heaters were routinely replaced for under $500.00, but I don't know this market. Any advice or words of wisdom for me? Thanks.

[MortonR]

Last time I was going to have one done by the big box stores, installation added about $200 to the cost. Probably more than that now.

The range of costs for water heaters is pretty broad - if you're going apples to apples (same capacity/brand) as your original heater the only real variable is how much of a warranty do you want.

The high end models are the hybrids, which are pretty pricey ($1200+) but use far less power to run. If you can swallow the upfront costs this is definitely the way to go, IMHO. I will be buying one when my current water heater dies, for sure.

They are nothing more than a heat pump that does the same thing your household heat pump does, only the heat they capture out of the ambient air is used to heat the water. They have a backup heating element in the event you exceed the capacity but it's unlikely that you will unless you have a big family with a lot of hot water usage.

While they are expensive up front, the claimed annual electrical consumption is somewhere in the range of $200-$300 a year, which is significantly lower than the +$500 a year your typical resistive electric water heater will cost.

Those consumption figures are also based on a home where there are four seasons, so down here with a much higher annual ambient temperature (assuming your water heater is in your garage or an unconditioned space) it should be even more efficient, as the warmer the ambient air, the more efficient the heat pump is.

Do your due diligence, but my opinion is such that you really can't go wrong with one of these, unless you have a small home or just a couple of people living there.

There have also been tax rebates for these as well, but I'm not sure if they are still in place or not. If they are, it males even more sense.

RM

[Sunnydee]

Thank you so much! This information is really helpful to me.

[Keeper]

Call the gas company and see if they have any rebates for buying or installing gas water heaters.
http://www.peoplesgas.com/residential/rebates/
Found it ^ Looks like a $350 rebate for a tank waterheater

My DH installed our electric water heater but gas is a totally different story.

[ESPLUMBING]

Give my gas guy a call, Largo Gas, Arron 727-455-6574, he is licensed, insured. You can also call your gas supplier to see who they deal with. Just make sure whoever does it is licensed to install gas appliances. I have heard in some areas if the gas is done by unlicensed people, the gas supplier to your home can shut it off for good.