FAQs

A like-for-like tank usually takes three to five hours. Switching fuel, adding a tankless unit or rerouting a vent can take a full day.

Yes. Massachusetts requires a licensed plumber and a plumbing permit, plus a licensed gas fitter and a gas permit for any gas connection.

Two to three people usually do well with 40 to 50 gallons. Larger households or several bathrooms may need 65 to 80 gallons, a high-recovery gas tank or tankless.

Yes, but it adds work. Gas needs a supply line and venting; electric needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit. Both are priced before you decide.

It depends on the unit and the temperature rise. In a Massachusetts winter the inlet water is cold, so units are sized for winter conditions.

Often. Whole-house gas tankless units have large burners, and many lines sized for a tank cannot supply them.

With regular descaling, many last around 20 years, longer than a typical tank.

Yes. The heat exchanger should be flushed with a descaling solution about once a year, more often on hard or well water.

It pulls heat from the surrounding air and moves it into the tank using a small compressor, with backup electric elements for heavy demand.

Mass Save currently offers a $750 instant rebate on qualifying ENERGY STAR heat pump water heaters for eligible customers.

Many models need a room of several hundred cubic feet, or ducting, to get enough air. The requirement for your model is checked first.

Yes, within the unit's operating range. It cools and dries the space as it runs and leans on its backup elements in very cold conditions.

A licensed plumber for the water side and a licensed gas fitter for the gas connection, with both permits filed.

Atmospheric units vent up a chimney by natural draft. Power-vent units use a fan to push exhaust out a side wall. Direct-vent units draw outside air through a sealed vent.

Sometimes. If the boiler or furnace no longer uses it, the chimney may be too big for the water heater alone and need a liner.

Yes. Propane models are fitted the same way, with the regulator and supply line checked from the outdoor tank.

Most standard electric tanks need a dedicated 240-volt circuit, commonly 30 amps.

It depends on local rates. A standard electric tank usually costs more to run than gas; a heat pump unit can cost less to run than either.

About 10 to 15 years is common, with regular flushing.

Often a failed element or thermostat. It can also be a broken dip tube.

A storage tank heated by your boiler through an internal coil, instead of its own burner or elements.

Yes, a hot-water (hydronic) boiler. It does not work with a forced-air furnace.

Usually. A tankless coil heats water inside the boiler on demand and often struggles with more than one shower; an indirect tank stores hot water, so supply is steadier.

Many stainless-steel indirect tanks last 20 years or more, since they have no burner of their own.