Water Heater Installation in Hattiesburg, MS
Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Forrest County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Water heaters here run against wind and storm outages more than cold
Winters in Forrest County are mild. Nights average 40°F from December through February, and homes only need heat five months of the year. That is not what wears on a water heater here.
Wind is the bigger threat. The area has logged 115 damaging wind events over the past ten years, against just one winter storm. Wind knocks out power, and about 30% of Mississippi households went at least 24 hours without it in 2024. Most storage water heaters come back on by themselves once power returns, but a new installation is worth planning around that risk. Whatever model goes in, it has to meet the federal minimum efficiency for its size and type, which is set separately for each tank volume rather than as one flat number.
- 40°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 30%
- of Mississippi 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 $260 a year to run in Mississippi compared with an electric water heater.
Estimates for a typical Mississippi home, from EIA household energy data and Mississippi fuel prices. Your home will differ.
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- Age is the first thing to check. Most tank water heaters have a working life span, and once a unit is old, a repair often just delays the next breakdown instead of preventing it. Rust colored water from the hot tap, a tank that's rusting on the outside, or water pooling underneath are signs the tank itself is failing, and a tank that's failing can't be repaired. If the unit is still fairly new and the problem is something like a heating element or a thermostat, that's usually worth fixing instead.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want out of it, not on what's broken. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through instead of storing it, so you don't run out partway through a shower, and there's no tank sitting there losing heat between uses. Mississippi households saw real outages last year, about 30% went at least 24 hours without power, so an electric tankless unit still needs power to run, same as an electric tank. A gas tankless unit without electric ignition can keep working through an outage. A contractor can look at your gas line, your electrical panel, and your water use and tell you whether tankless makes sense for your house.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is that you stop storing hot water and start heating it as it flows through the unit. That often means a different gas line size or a dedicated electrical circuit, depending on the model, since tankless units draw more power or fuel in short bursts than a tank does. Venting is different too, since a tankless unit vents through its own dedicated line rather than sharing a standard flue. Because the requirements are different from a tank, a contractor will need to look at your gas supply, electrical setup, and where the unit will go before pricing the job.