Water Heater Repair & Replacement

Sizing comes first, and for tank heaters that means first hour rating rather than the gallon number on the label. A fifty gallon tank with a strong recovery rate can outperform a seventy five gallon tank with a weak one, and the right answer depends on how many showers run back to back in your house on a weekday morning.

For tankless we work from flow rate at your actual groundwater temperature, which in Maryland runs cold enough in February that the rated gallons per minute on the box is not the number you will see at the tap. We check the gas meter and line size, the vent path, the combustion air supply, and the condition of the existing shutoffs and expansion tank.

On service calls we test the anode rod, flush sediment, check the thermostat and the temperature and pressure relief valve, and look for the early signs of tank failure before they become a flooded basement.

Standard atmospheric vent gas tanks are still the least expensive to install and remain the right call in plenty of basements with a lined chimney already in place. Power vent models let you move the heater away from the chimney and vent out a sidewall, which matters in finished basements and in townhouses where the flue is shared or already committed.

Electric tanks make sense where there is no gas service or no practical vent path, and heat pump water heaters go further, pulling heat out of basement air at a fraction of the energy a resistance element uses, though they need enough surrounding air volume and they cool the space they sit in. Tankless gives you continuous hot water and a much smaller footprint, but a retrofit usually means a larger gas line, a new stainless or PVC vent, a condensate drain and in some cases a dedicated circuit. We price all of that in the original quote instead of discovering it on installation day.

Most straight tank replacements are a single day and often a half day, and the old unit leaves with us. We drain it before moving it, protect the floor and the stair route, and dispose of it. Tankless retrofits and heat pump water heater installs take longer, and if a gas line upsize or a new vent penetration is involved you see that in the quote, not on the day.

Permits are pulled where Montgomery County or Prince George's County requires them, and we coordinate the inspection. Before we leave, the unit is filled, purged of air, fired and checked, the delivery temperature is set to a safe setting, and we walk you through the shutoff, the relief valve discharge and the maintenance schedule. If your heater has already failed and flooded, our 24-hour emergency service is the number to call.

Warranty coverage

Tank heaters typically carry a manufacturer warranty on the tank itself and a separate, often shorter, term on parts. Tankless units are usually covered longer on the heat exchanger. Exact terms depend on the model, and a number of manufacturers reduce or void coverage when a unit is installed without an expansion tank on a closed system, or when required descaling is skipped, which is a real risk with water as hard as ours.

We register your equipment, put the coverage in writing on the proposal, and tell you plainly what the maintenance requirement is so the warranty stays intact. Installation labor is warranted separately under terms printed on the same paperwork, and the 100% satisfaction guarantee applies to the work itself.

Available incentives

Washington Gas offers residential rebates on qualifying high efficiency gas water heating equipment, including tankless, and those incentives sit inside the broader Maryland EmPOWER framework. On the electric side, BGE and Pepco residential programs have supported heat pump water heaters, which is the category carrying the most incentive money at the moment. Home Comfort Air Services participates in the BGE and Pepco residential rebate programs.

The federal Section 25C credit that used to apply to this equipment ended for anything placed in service after December 31, 2025. Because program terms and funding change, we verify current eligibility against the exact model going into your house rather than quoting a figure up front.