Water Heater Installation in DeKalb, IL
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DeKalb County asks a lot of a water heater
Winter nights here average 17°F from December through February, and that cold reaches into whatever basement or utility room your tank sits in. With heat needed from October through May, eight months a year, a water heater in this county is rarely working in easy conditions.
Power is part of the picture too. DeKalb County has logged 17 winter storms and 105 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Illinois, 16% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. That history is worth weighing when you choose between a tank and a tankless unit, or between gas and electric. Whatever you install, a new storage water heater has to meet a federal efficiency minimum, and that minimum is set by the tank's size, applied across how the household actually draws hot water, so the right number is different for every home.
- 17°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?
- Look at the age of the tank first. Once a water heater is old, a repair often just delays the same failure. Rust colored water from the hot tap, rust on the outside of the tank, or water pooling underneath mean the tank itself is failing, and a tank cannot be repaired, only replaced. If it still makes hot water but takes longer to recover, or it's popping and rumbling, sediment has built up inside, and that usually means the end is closer than the middle.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on your current heater failing. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through instead of storing it, so you get a steady supply instead of running out partway through a long shower or a sink full of dishes. It also mounts on the wall instead of taking up floor space, and it doesn't sit there holding standing water that can eventually leak. Switching from a tank means changes to the gas line, the venting, and sometimes the electrical, so a contractor needs to look at your setup before you decide.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The unit is smaller and mounts on a wall instead of standing on the floor, so where it goes in your house will likely change. Gas fired tankless units need a larger gas line than a tank heater does, since they draw more gas in the moment to heat water on demand, and the venting is different too. Some models also need a dedicated electrical circuit to run their controls. None of that rules out the switch, it just means a contractor has to check your gas line, venting, and electrical before installing one, since the right setup depends on the house.