Water heater guides

Sizing. Write down your busiest hour of hot water use — showers, dishwasher, laundry, all of it. Then buy a storage unit whose first hour rating covers it, or a tankless unit whose GPM at your winter incoming temperature covers it. ENERGY STAR's certified gas storage units carry an FHR of at least 51 gallons and certified gas tankless units at least 2.8 GPM over a 67°F rise — use those as reference points, not as your answer.

Choosing a type. The default is like-for-like. Move away from it only for a named reason: you run out of hot water, you need the space, you want the lowest electric running cost (heat pump, UEF 3.30+ under ENERGY STAR criteria), or you are already redoing venting.

Vetting. Verify the license on your state licensing board's own lookup. Confirm insurance. Require an itemized quote with the specific model number. Ask who pulls the permit. Get three bids if you are not in an emergency — NerdWallet's 2026 ranges ($600-$2,500 tank, $1,400-$3,900 tankless) tell you when a bid is far outside normal.

Verifying. Permit number, inspection scheduled, warranty registered, no drips, T&P discharge properly terminated, shutoffs shown to you, temperature set deliberately. Then put the paperwork somewhere you will find it in eight years.

How to choose

Do the busiest-hour exercise before you shop

Ten minutes with a pen prevents the two most common outcomes: an undersized unit you regret daily, and an oversized one you pay to keep hot for 12 years.

Verify licensing at the source

State licensing boards publish searchable lookups. A license number on a truck is not verification.

Plan the replacement before the failure

Past year 10 on a tank, start getting bids. A planned replacement costs less and lets you actually choose.

Never DIY gas or venting

Sizing, shopping, and even flushing an electric tank are reasonable homeowner activities. Combustion appliances are not.

Keep every document

Invoice, model and serial, permit, inspection report, warranty registration. All five get asked for eventually — at a claim, a service call, or a sale.