Water heating is one of the largest continuous loads in a house, and the choice between fuel types has electrical consequences that get discovered late.
The three options, electrically
A gas water heater draws almost nothing. A standard atmospheric unit needs no electrical connection at all beyond, in some cases, a small control circuit. A power-vented model needs a receptacle for its blower, which is a modest load on a general circuit.
A conventional electric resistance water heater is a substantial dedicated load. A typical residential unit runs on 240 volts, drawing enough current to require its own circuit sized accordingly and its own double-pole breaker.
A heat pump water heater uses considerably less energy for the same output, because it moves heat rather than creating it. Electrically it still needs a 240-volt dedicated circuit in most configurations, though the current draw is lower and some models run on 120 volts.
Why the conversion question comes up
Two things drive it in Wichita. Gas appliance replacement decisions, and electrification generally as households move away from combustion.
The trap is that a gas-to-electric conversion looks like an appliance swap and is actually a circuit installation plus, frequently, a capacity conversation.
The capacity arithmetic
A conventional electric water heater on a 100-amp service is a meaningful commitment of that service. In a Wichita house of the pre-1980 generation, which is a large share of the housing stock, adding one alongside an existing electric range and central air can take the calculated load past the service size.
This is where a water heater decision becomes a service upgrade decision, and it is better established during planning than after a unit is delivered.
A heat pump model changes that arithmetic favourably. Lower current draw means it fits into a tighter service where a resistance unit would not, which is one of the more practical reasons to choose one beyond the energy cost.
The physical requirements
A dedicated circuit sized to the appliance nameplate, run to the unit’s location.
A disconnecting means. Where the circuit breaker is not within sight of the appliance, a local disconnect is required, and for a water heater in a basement or a garage that is usually the case.
Bonding. This is the one people miss. Metal water piping must be bonded to the electrical grounding system, and a water heater sits in the middle of that piping. Where dielectric unions or plastic sections interrupt continuity, a bonding jumper across the heater is required so the piping system remains electrically continuous.
Location considerations for heat pump models
These units cool and dehumidify the space they sit in, because that is where they take heat from. In a Kansas basement that is a benefit in summer and a nuisance in winter.
They need a minimum air volume around them, which rules out a tight closet without ducting or louvres. And they produce condensate, which needs a drain.
None of that is electrical, and all of it affects where the circuit has to run.
Permits and inspection
New circuits for water heating are permitted work. In Wichita and the unincorporated parts of Sedgwick County that goes through the Metro Area Building and Construction Department at 271 W 3rd St N Suite 101, telephone (316) 660-1840, inspected against the 2023 National Electrical Code adopted there in January 2025. Andover properties permit through their own city office, being in Butler County.
Where a gas unit is being removed, the gas side of the work has its own permit and its own inspection.
The tankless variant
Electric tankless water heaters deserve a specific warning, because they are marketed on the basis of the space and energy they save and the electrical requirement rarely appears in that marketing.
Heating water instantaneously rather than in a tank means an enormous instantaneous load. Whole-house electric tankless units commonly require multiple large circuits and a service size well beyond what most existing Wichita houses have.
The number of these that get purchased and then cannot be installed is not small. Checking the electrical specification against the panel before buying is the entire lesson.
The sequence that works
Decide the fuel type and the technology first. Get a load calculation against the choice. Establish whether the existing service supports it. Then buy the unit.
Running that calculation with emergency electrician in Wichita before an appliance is ordered takes about an hour and it is the difference between a straightforward installation and a project that stalls with a water heater sitting in a garage.
If the service turns out to be short
Three routes, in rough order of cost. Choose a heat pump model, which may fit where a resistance unit does not. Stay with gas for this replacement cycle and revisit at the next one. Or upgrade the service, which is worth doing anyway if other electrification is planned within a few years.
