Water Heater Installation in Orlando, FL
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Orlando doesn't ask much of a water heater, except to survive a storm
Winters here barely register. Nights average 51°F in December and January, the only months homes need any heat at all. A water heater in Orange County isn't fighting the cold. It's running through summer heat and humidity most of the year, which is a mild, steady job compared to what colder climates demand.
The bigger risk is the power going out. Florida saw 64 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in 2024, 38% of households statewide lost power for 24 hours or more at some point. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage. One that relies on electric ignition or is fully electric won't, until power comes back. That's worth weighing when you pick a replacement, especially if the storm knocked out power for days rather than hours.
Whatever you install has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its type and size. That minimum isn't one number. It's set by a formula tied to the tank's rated volume, and it's calculated separately for four different draw patterns, so two tanks of the same type can face different minimums depending on how much hot water they're built to hold.
- 51°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 2 months
- December through January, the months homes here need heat
- 38%
- of Florida 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 $240 a year to run in Florida compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Florida home, from EIA household energy data and Florida fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- If your water heater is old and starting to act up, that combination is usually the sign to stop repairing and replace it. Watch for water that takes longer to heat, rust-colored water, a tank that's rusting on the outside, or puddles forming underneath it. A leaking tank won't stop leaking, and once the tank itself is rusted through there's no fixing it. If a licensed contractor has already been out more than once in the past year, that's usually a sign the unit has more trouble ahead of it than behind it.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, but there are a few real differences worth knowing. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through rather than storing and reheating a tankful, so you don't run out of hot water partway through a long shower or back to back loads. They also tend to last longer than tank units. The tradeoff is that a tankless system usually means changes to the gas line, venting, or electrical setup, which a storage tank replacement doesn't require. A licensed contractor can look at your home's setup and tell you what switching would actually involve.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The water heater itself changes from a tank that stores and reheats water to a unit that heats it on demand as it passes through. Because of that, the gas line feeding it may need to be upsized, since tankless units draw more gas at once than a standard tank. The venting is different too, and often needs its own dedicated line to the outside. If the home runs on electric rather than gas, the unit may need a larger electrical circuit than the old tank used. A licensed contractor can walk the specific setup in your house and say what needs to change there before the new unit goes in.