You will never realize how much you LOVE your water heater, until it goes out. In some new homeowner cases, only then will you even go to look at what a water heater even is. In most homes, it comes from a traditional tank-style water heater although some are equipped with tank-less water heaters.
Regardless of the type, it’s can be helpful to know it’s current age (which most of the time you get from a home inspection) and what the average lifespan is. A serial number can help you find it’s birthday if you don’t know it by installing it yourself.
How long do they last?
The average lifespan for a tank style water heater is between 8 and 12 years. Once you start getting near that age- looking into a replacement is key as a failed water can cause more damage to a home instead of just no hot water.
Tankless water heaters can last up to 20 years.
How do I know it is aging?
- Water that smells bad or looks discolored when hot water is running
- A pool of water around your water heater is an obvious one
- Rusting (yellow or red water pooling around the unit or comes out of faucet)
- The unit starts to make funny noises
- You don’t get very long with hot water in the shower or while doing dishes
Why is my HVAC company talking about this?
We service your HVAC, but we care about everything going on in your world and we happen to have a lot of conversations with you and in office about appliances and other systems that connect to, or are affiliated with your HVAC system. That’s all.
