Water Heater Installation in Bloomington, IL
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What a water heater in Bloomington has to handle
Your water heater works every day from October through May, eight months of the year, with winter nights averaging 20°F. Cold water coming into the tank takes more energy to heat, and that is the job it faces most of the year here, not just a few weeks of it.
Power is part of the picture too. Statewide, 16% of households went at least a day without power in 2024, and McLean County has seen 11 winter storms and 136 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage. One with electronic ignition will not light until power is back. Whatever you install, it also has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its size, which is set separately for each tank volume rather than as one number across the board.
- 20°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 16%
- of Illinois 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 $360 a year to run in Illinois compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Illinois home, from EIA household energy data and Illinois fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- Watch for water around the base of the tank, water that runs out warm and never hot, or a tank that's rusting at the fittings. Rust in the water itself, especially when it shows up in hot water only, usually means the tank is corroding from the inside. A water heater making popping or rumbling sounds has sediment built up on the bottom, and that shortens its life. If yours is original to the house and starting to act up, replacing it before it fails is easier than dealing with a flooded closet in the middle of winter.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on whether tank heaters are somehow worse. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through, so you don't run out of hot water partway through a long shower, and it takes up a lot less space than a tank. It also needs a gas line and venting sized for it, which isn't always a small change in an existing house. A contractor can look at your gas supply, your venting, and your water use and tell you whether the switch makes sense for your house.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is what's connected to it. A tankless unit typically needs a larger gas line than a tank heater does, because it has to heat water fast rather than slowly over time, and it needs its own venting, usually run through a wall or up through the roof. The electrical hookup is different too, since the unit needs power to run its ignition and controls even though it's heating with gas. None of this is a reason to avoid one. It just means the installation involves more than swapping one box for another, and a contractor will need to check your gas line size and venting path before quoting the job.