Best Electric Water Heaters

1. How We Picked

We did not install these heaters in a lab. We compared the numbers manufacturers and retailers publish for each model: the first-hour rating, the uniform energy factor (UEF), element wattage, warranty terms, and the dimensions that decide whether a tank fits the space your old one left. Where two sources gave different figures for the same model, we say so in the product card rather than picking whichever number looked better.

We focused on electric tank heaters, the kind most homes without gas already have, and the kind most people searching for an electric water heater are replacing. We included two heat pump hybrids because they are the obvious upgrade when an electric tank fails, and because for larger households they have largely replaced standard 80-gallon electric tanks. Electric tankless heaters are a different decision with different electrical demands, and they have their own guide.

Brand mattered less than you might expect. As our guide to water heater brands explains, a few manufacturers sit behind most of the names on the shelf, and the tank inside a six-year model is often very close to the one in a twelve-year model. What changes is the warranty, the elements, the controls and the anode. We weighted warranty heavily for that reason: it is the clearest signal of how long the maker expects the tank to last.

We also favored models you can actually buy. Several electric tanks that look good on paper are discontinued or sold only in specific regions, and an 80-gallon standard electric model we would once have recommended is now listed as discontinued with a hybrid as its replacement. Every pick here was listed for sale when we checked, but stock and model suffixes change often, so confirm the exact model number before you order.

2. First-Hour Rating Beats Tank Size

The number printed in big type on a water heater box is the tank size, and it is the least useful number on it. Two 50-gallon heaters can deliver noticeably different amounts of usable hot water, because what matters is how much hot water the heater produces in an hour of heavy use starting from a full, hot tank. That is the first-hour rating, and it appears on the yellow EnergyGuide label and on most spec sheets.

The first-hour rating combines what is stored with what the elements can reheat during that hour. Electric heaters recover slowly compared with gas, because a pair of 4,500-watt elements, which normally run one at a time, puts far less heat into the water than a gas burner does. That is why an electric 50-gallon tank typically lands in the high 50s to low 60s on first-hour gallons, while the same size of gas tank often rates higher. Our picks range from 53 gallons for the 40-gallon Rheem to 63 gallons for the Rheem Performance Platinum, with the hybrids higher still.

To use the number, estimate your peak hour. A shower typically uses around 10 to 20 gallons depending on the showerhead and its length, a dishwasher a few gallons, and a clothes washer on a warm cycle more again. Add up what happens in your busiest morning hour and buy a heater whose first-hour rating covers it with a little to spare. If two people shower back to back while the dishwasher runs, you are already past 40 gallons.

3. Our 7 Picks

We researched these seven from manufacturer spec sheets, warranty documents and retailer listings; we did not install or lab-test them. Every figure is attributed to its source, and where sources disagree we say so. Model suffixes change often, so confirm the exact model number before you buy.

4. Sizing by Household

As a starting point, one to two people usually do fine with a 30 to 40-gallon electric tank, three to four people with a 50-gallon tank, and five or more with a 65 to 80-gallon tank or a hybrid with a high first-hour rating. Those are rules of thumb that manufacturers and retailers publish in some form, and they assume ordinary habits. A household of two with a large soaking tub can need more hot water than a family of four who take short showers.

Electric heaters push you toward the upper end of those ranges because of slow recovery. When a gas tank runs low it can be back to usable temperature fairly quickly; an electric tank with a single 4,500-watt element running reheats at roughly 20 to 25 gallons per hour at a 90-degree rise, which is what our picks' spec sheets list. If your house runs out of hot water now, going up a tank size is usually more effective than any other change.

Check the space before you choose a size. A 50-gallon tank comes in short, medium and tall versions, and the short models such as the A.O. Smith Signature 100 and the Bradford White RE350S6 are about 47 inches tall, while tall versions run well over 60 inches. Measure height, diameter, and the clearance the installation instructions require around the tank and above it for the connections. Larger 80-gallon tanks are heavy when full, so make sure the floor can carry them.

Finally, think about how long you will be in the house. If you expect to move within a few years, a well-priced six-year tank sized correctly is the sensible buy. If you plan to stay, the extra cost of a longer warranty, a rust-proof Marathon tank or a heat pump hybrid is spread across many more years of use.

5. Elements, Wattage and the Circuit

Most residential electric tanks have two elements, an upper and a lower, and in typical wiring only one runs at a time. The upper element heats the top of the tank first so you get some hot water quickly, then hands over to the lower element, which does most of the work. Bradford White's listing for the RE350S6, for example, describes non-simultaneous operation, which is the normal arrangement.

Element wattage decides recovery speed and the circuit you need. The common size is 4,500 watts at 240 volts. Simple arithmetic gives 18.75 amps for one element at 240 volts, and because a storage water heater is treated as a continuous load under the electrical code, installers generally size the circuit at 125 percent of that, which commonly means a 30-amp two-pole breaker and 10-gauge copper wire. Some models use 5,500-watt elements for faster recovery, which can push the required circuit higher.

The practical rule is to read the heater's nameplate and installation manual, which state the required breaker and minimum wire size, and to match a replacement to your existing circuit where you can. Swapping a 4,500-watt heater for another 4,500-watt heater is the simple case. Moving to higher-wattage elements, or to an electric tankless unit, is where an electrician needs to confirm the panel and wiring can take it. Our tankless cost guide covers how quickly those electrical upgrades add up.

If you are replacing a heater on a 208-volt supply, common in some apartments and commercial buildings, element output drops: the RE350S6 listing gives 3,500 watts per element at 208 volts against 4,500 at 240. Recovery is slower as a result, so a 208-volt home may want a larger tank to get the same usable hot water.

6. UEF and Running Cost

The uniform energy factor is the efficiency number you will see on every spec sheet. For standard electric tanks it clusters tightly, around 0.91 to 0.93 among our picks, because an electric element turns almost all of its energy into heat in the water; the losses are the heat that escapes through the tank walls and pipes. A higher UEF on a standard tank mostly means better insulation.

To give a sense of scale, here is a rough estimate with stated assumptions rather than a measured figure. Heating 50 gallons a day by 70 degrees takes about 29,000 BTU, or roughly 8.6 kilowatt-hours of heat. At a 0.93 UEF that is about 9.2 kWh of electricity a day, or around 3,350 kWh a year. At 17 cents per kWh, that comes to roughly $570 a year. Your bill will differ with your water use, inlet temperature, thermostat setting and electricity rate.

The same arithmetic shows why heat pump hybrids matter. At a 3.88 UEF, like the ProTerra listed here, the same hot water would need roughly a quarter of the electricity, around 800 kWh a year, or about $140 at the same rate. On those assumptions the hybrid saves on the order of $400 a year, which is why it can pay back its higher price within the life of the tank. Real savings depend heavily on where the heater sits and how cold that space is.

Small habits move the bill too. Setting the thermostat to around 120 degrees rather than higher, insulating the first few feet of hot pipe and fixing dripping hot taps all reduce what the heater has to do. None of those changes depend on which model you buy.

7. When a Heat Pump Model Pays

A heat pump hybrid is an electric water heater that moves heat out of the surrounding air into the tank, using standard elements only as a backup. That is how the ProTerra reaches a 3.88 UEF and the A.O. Smith hybrid an 84-gallon first-hour rating listed by retailers. If you have the space, it is the most important upgrade to consider when an electric tank fails.

The space is the catch. A hybrid needs a certain volume of air around it, a condensate drain, and enough room for the taller unit and the fan on top. It cools and dehumidifies the room it is in, which is a bonus in a warm garage or basement and a cost in a heated living space in winter. It also makes some fan noise. Our heat pump water heater guide covers placement, noise and the 120-volt plug-in models that avoid electrical work.

Upfront cost is higher, often much higher, than a standard tank. Utility rebates and programs can narrow that gap in some areas, so check what your utility offers before deciding. If the numbers work, the yearly savings can recover the difference within several years on the assumptions in our running-cost section. If they do not, or your only space is a cramped closet, a well-insulated standard tank such as the Rheem Performance Platinum is still a reasonable choice.

Hybrids also have more parts that can fail, including the compressor, fan and controls, and their warranties sometimes differ between the tank and the heat pump components. Read the terms. A hybrid that saves $400 a year but needs a costly repair in year eight still usually comes out ahead, but you should know what is covered.

8. Warranty, Anode and Lifespan

Electric tanks tend to outlast gas ones. Our guide to how long water heaters last puts electric tanks at roughly 10 to 15 years, against 8 to 12 for gas, largely because there is no burner heating the bottom of the tank. What usually ends a tank's life is corrosion, and that is where the anode rod comes in.

Glass-lined steel tanks rely on a sacrificial anode that corrodes instead of the tank. When the anode is used up, the tank starts to corrode. Longer-warranty tanks generally come with heavier anodes or a second anode, which is a big part of what you pay for in a 12-year model over a 6-year one. Checking the anode every few years and replacing it when it is mostly gone is the cheapest way to extend any steel tank's life, especially with hard or softened water.

The Rheem Marathon takes a different approach: its non-metallic tank cannot rust, so it has no anode and carries a lifetime limited tank warranty per Ferguson. You will still replace elements and thermostats over the years, as you would on any electric heater, but those are inexpensive parts compared with a new tank and an installation.

Whatever you buy, read the warranty terms before you need them. Many require registration within a set time, professional installation, or proof that the heater was maintained. Labor is often covered for only a year, if at all, so a warranty that replaces a failed tank may still leave you paying for removal and reinstallation. Draining a few gallons from the bottom once or twice a year reduces sediment, which matters more in hard-water areas.

9. Replacing an Electric Heater: Cost and Install

Replacing an electric tank with another electric tank of the same size and wattage is one of the simpler plumbing jobs: shut off power at the breaker and water at the supply, drain the old tank, disconnect the water lines and wiring, set the new tank, reconnect, fill completely before turning power on, and check for leaks. Turning the power on before the tank is full burns out the upper element almost immediately, which is the classic first-time mistake.

Many areas require a permit for water heater replacement, and codes usually require a temperature and pressure relief valve piped to a safe drain, a drain pan in some locations, and seismic strapping in earthquake zones. A plumber will handle those and haul away the old tank. If you are moving to a different size, a hybrid or a higher-wattage model, the job can involve electrical changes, a condensate drain or new piping, which is where professional installation is worth paying for.

For a broader look at the options, our overview of the types of water heaters compares tank, tankless, heat pump and solar side by side. If you have gas available, our gas water heater guide covers tanks that recover faster than electric ones, at the cost of venting and combustion air.

Whichever route you choose, keep the paperwork: the model and serial number, the installation date and the warranty registration. A warranty claim in year nine goes far more smoothly when you can show the heater was installed correctly and registered on time.