Water Heater Installation in Cedar City, UT
Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Iron County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What a water heater in Cedar City has to handle
Winter nights here average 20°F from December through February, and the house needs hot water from October through May, eight months a year. That is most of the year spent pulling in cold groundwater and heating it, not just a few weeks.
Iron County has logged 36 winter storms and 32 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 7% of Utah households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps making hot water through an outage like that. One that lights with an electronic igniter won't, until the power is back. Either way, a new tank has to meet the federal minimum efficiency set for its size, which is figured separately for each tank volume rather than as one number for every heater.
- 20°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 7%
- of Utah 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 $320 a year to run in Utah compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Utah home, from EIA household energy data and Utah fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- The clearest sign is water pooling under the tank or rust colored water coming from the hot side. If the tank itself is leaking, not a fitting or valve, it will not get better and it will not wait. A unit that is short cycling, taking much longer to heat, or making a low rumbling sound as it runs is telling you sediment has built up inside the tank and is wearing it out. An older tank with any of these signs is usually past the point of repair. If the unit is newer and the trouble is something like a weak pilot or an inconsistent supply of hot water, that can often be fixed instead of replaced. A contractor can look at the tank and the fittings and tell you which situation yours is.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it and what your home can support. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through instead of storing it, so you get an endless supply of hot water and never run out partway through a shower. It also takes up much less space than a tank sitting on the floor. The tradeoff is that a tankless unit fires at a higher rate, so it needs enough gas line and venting capacity to support that, and some homes need those upgraded before installation. If your current tank is working fine, there is no need to switch. If you are replacing a failing tank anyway, that is the moment to weigh the two side by side with a contractor who can look at your gas line and vent setup and tell you what would need to change.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The gas line and venting are usually the biggest changes. A tankless unit fires at a higher rate than most tank units to heat water on demand, so it often needs a larger gas line and its own dedicated vent, sized and routed to the manufacturer's specifications. The unit itself mounts on a wall rather than sitting on the floor, which frees up the space the old tank used. Some homes also need an upgraded electrical outlet nearby since tankless units use electronic ignition. A contractor can check your existing gas line and venting to see what needs to change before the new unit goes in.