Storage tank
$1,600–$2,400Typical cost, including installation
WATER HEATER REPLACEMENT IN PINE HILLS
Pine Hills Water Heater
Replacement
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See what replacement costs ↓PINE HILLS AT A GLANCE
Replacing a water heater in Pine Hills.
Most of Pine Hills is unincorporated, so a water heater swap usually needs a $38 Orange County plumbing permit. Pine Hills began in 1953 with the Robinswood and Pine Ridge Estates subdivisions and grew through the 1960s and 70s as one of Orlando's first suburbs. With about 24,600 homes, roughly half built before 1980, it has one of the largest stocks of older ranch houses in unincorporated Orange County.
Pine Hills is an unincorporated community in Orange County, so county offices handle permits.
- Permit to replace with the same type
- Yes · Orange County Division of Building Safety
- Permit fee
- Stand-alone water heater plumbing permit: $38 (Orange County Fee Directory, pages marked effective July 2025).
- Who gets the permit
- Licensed contractors whose license fits the job. Homeowners qualify only for the home they live in, after an Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement in which they accept responsibility for meeting code.
- Electric utility
- Duke Energy Florida and OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission)
- Gas utility
- Peoples Gas (TECO) and Florida Public Utilities (FPU)
- Water
- Orange County Utilities or OUC, depending on address · OUC water averages 129 ppm (7 gpg); Orange County Utilities' 2025 report does not list hardness
- Rebate worth checking
- Duke Energy Florida heat pump water heater rebate (Home Energy Improvement) (Active)
- Typical home
- Built 1980 (median) · 55% owner-occupied
- Companies found
- 4 that advertise water heater work
01 / TYPICAL PRICES
What a new water heater costs.
Know before you call.
Heat-pump tank
$2,500–$5,000Typical cost, including installation
Tankless
$2,400–$5,400Typical cost, including installation
AI equipment illustrations; models vary and images are not to scale. Typical national prices from Home Depot ↗, checked September 28, 2026. The source doesn’t say how many jobs the ranges are based on. These are not Pine Hills averages or guaranteed quotes.
Compare what each quote includes.Equipment · Labor · Permits · Old heater removalHow to compare quotes →
What we know about prices in Pine Hills
- National installer’s published rangeThe ranges above. Home Depot ↗
- Local permit feeStand-alone water heater plumbing permit: $38 (Orange County Fee Directory, pages marked effective July 2025).. Orange County Division of Building Safety fee source ↗
- Local company’s advertised priceNone of the local company websites we checked list a full installed price.
- Measured local dataNot collected yet, so no Pine Hills average is shown.
What can change the price in Pine Hills?
Some jobs need an electrical permit too. Gas permits depend on job value: $64 for the first $1,000, then $6 for every added $1,000. A recorded Notice of Commencement is needed above $5,000.
02 / COMPANIES WE FOUND
Who replaces water heaters in Pine Hills?
Companies that advertise water heater replacement here, with what their water heater customers say.
Companies we found in our research. They are not Ember & Tank providers or partners. We show selected reviews, not a rating or every review. How we choose reviews →
Frank Gay Services
Lists Pine Hills among the areas it serves. Based in Orlando.
- Tank
- Tankless
- Heat pump
- Repair
- Emergency service
What the reviews say
Water heater feedback BBB reviewers praised water heater replacements finished within hours of the call, clean-up, and technicians who explained the equipment.
Worth knowing Two BBB complainants (2025, 2026) said Frank Gay had not obtained or closed out the county permit for a water heater install months later; the company said it was working on one and that the other customer declined access.
6 water heater reviews read, checked September 30, 2026.
What the reviews say
Water heater feedback Yelp reviewers praised a same-day combined AC and hot water heater replacement at a lower bundled price and convenient water heater servicing.
Worth knowing No water heater complaints found in the sources checked.
2 water heater reviews read, checked September 30, 2026.
Brightwater Plumbing
Lists Pine Hills among the areas it serves. Based in Winter Garden.
- Tank
- Tankless
- Repair
- Emergency service
What the reviews say
We haven’t found reviews that mention this company’s water heater work yet.
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup (Orlando)
Lists Pine Hills among the areas it serves. Based in Orlando.
- Tank
- Tankless
- Heat pump
- Repair
- Emergency service
What the reviews say
We haven’t found reviews that mention this company’s water heater work yet.
Order: companies based in Pine Hills first, then companies whose water heater reviews we’ve read. Each group is alphabetical. These businesses are not our employees or vetted partners and do not receive requests from Ember & Tank. We haven’t checked their license, insurance or quality of work. DBPR license search (MyFloridaLicense) ↗.
See before-and-after replacement examples from independent companies →
HOMES IN PINE HILLS
What Pine Hills homes are like.
1980Median year built
49%Built before 1980
55%Owner-occupied
2%Heat with utility gas
73%Single-family homes
About 49% of homes were built before 1980. Older homes often have older venting, smaller closets and shutoff valves that should be checked before install day.
94% of homes heat with electricity, which usually means an electric water heater. It’s worth getting a price on a heat pump model too.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey ACS 2024 5-year ↗ (2020-2024). Heating fuel is what homes use to heat the house. It often, but not always, matches the water heater’s fuel.
LOCAL CONDITIONS
What’s different in Pine Hills.
Check whether your block was annexed into Orlando
Wikipedia's history notes that the City of Orlando annexed parts of Pine Hills in the 1980s, including North Lane east of Pine Hills Road, Clarion Drive south of Clarcona-Ocoee Road and parts of Signal Hill. Homes there get permits from Orlando, not Orange County, even though the whole area shares the 32808 and 32818 Orlando ZIP codes.
Wikipedia – Pine Hills, Florida (history) ↗ · Orange County – Do I need a permit? ↗
Older ranch-house stock
Census estimates show about 49% of Pine Hills homes were built before 1980 and about 23% in the 1950s–60s. Original heater closets and pipes in those houses may need updates, like a drain pan or new shutoff valves, when a modern tank goes in.
U.S. Census Bureau – ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, housing tables B25024/B25034/B25035/B25040 (Census Reporter profile) ↗ · data.census.gov – community profile ↗
Septic-to-sewer work on Pine Hills Road
Pine Hills Road is in the Wekiwa Spring and Rock Springs priority area, and Orange County Utilities moved 95 parcels (30 of them homes) between Alhambra Drive and Golf Club Parkway from septic to county sewer. Many other Pine Hills homes are still on septic. That doesn't change the water heater permit, but it matters if the job means moving drains.
ENERGY & WATER
Who supplies Pine Hills homes.
Energy
- Electric: Duke Energy Florida (Covers much of unincorporated Orange County; confirm for your address)
- Electric: OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) (Covers Orlando and some nearby unincorporated parts of Orange County)
- Gas: Peoples Gas (TECO) (Unincorporated Orange County is listed)
- Gas: Florida Public Utilities (FPU) (Unincorporated Orange County is listed)
OUC – Water Services (service area description) ↗ · Wikipedia – Orlando Utilities Commission ↗ · Peoples Gas tariff Sheet 6.101, communities served (effective Jan. 1, 2026) ↗ · Florida Public Utilities natural gas tariff, communities served ↗ · Duke Energy Florida tariff Section V, communities served (2013 PSC filing) ↗
Water
Orange County Utilities or OUC, depending on address: OUC water averages 129 ppm (7 gpg); Orange County Utilities' 2025 report does not list hardness
Orange County Utilities 2025 Drinking Water Report (PDF) ↗ · OUC – Water Services FAQ ↗
REBATES & CREDITS
Rebates for Pine Hills homes.
For Duke Energy Florida, OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission), Peoples Gas (TECO) and Florida Public Utilities (FPU) customers in Pine Hills. Ask installers for the price before rebates, then check with the program that you qualify.
- Duke Energy Florida heat pump water heater rebate (Home Energy Improvement) ↗Active$500 for a 50-gallon or $800 for an 80-gallon ENERGY STAR heat pump (hybrid) water heater with a UEF of at least 3.3.
- Peoples Gas residential water heating rebates ↗ActiveNatural gas tank water heater: $350 gas-to-gas or $550 electric-to-gas ($400 / $650 for ENERGY STAR tanks).
- Federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C) ↗EndedCovered improvements made through December 31, 2025.
Checked September 30, 2026. Who qualifies and the conditions: Florida rebates · How to check an incentive.
PERMITS & LICENSING
Permits and licenses in Pine Hills.
Permits and who issues them
You'll need a plumbing permit for a water heater replacement, and maybe an electrical permit, says Orange County's 'Do I need a permit?' page. The county issues stand-alone plumbing permits for these swaps on its Fast Track online system, and the work must pass a final inspection.
Orange County Division of Building Safety ↗ · Orange County – Do I need a permit? ↗ · Orange County – Plumbing Permits ↗ · Orange County Fee Directory (PDF, plumbing page effective July 2025) ↗
Check the installer’s license
Ask for the license number and search it yourself on the DBPR license search (MyFloridaLicense) ↗. A listing on Ember & Tank is not a license check. Florida licensing explained →
NEARBY CITIES
Compare places near Pine Hills.
| City | Distance | Permit to replace | Fee | Electric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockhart | 4 mi | Required (county) | $38 | Duke Energy Florida or Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) |
| Ocoee | 4 mi | Required | $50 | Duke Energy Florida |
| Fairview Shores | 5 mi | Required (county) | $38 | Duke Energy Florida, OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) |
| Forest City | 6 mi | Required (county) | By job value (from $45) | Duke Energy Florida or Florida Power & Light |
| Maitland | 7 mi | Required | $75 | Duke Energy Florida |
| Altamonte Springs | 7 mi | Required | $50 | Duke Energy Florida |
COMMON QUESTIONS
Pine Hills water heater questions.
My address says Orlando. Do I get the permit from the City of Orlando?
Usually not. Most of Pine Hills is unincorporated and uses Orange County's permit. But areas the city annexed in the 1980s (for example near North Lane, Clarion Drive and Signal Hill) use Orlando's permit office, so check which applies to you first.
Wikipedia – Pine Hills, Florida (history) ↗ · Orange County – Do I need a permit? ↗
Is gas common for water heaters in Pine Hills?
No. Census estimates show about 94% of homes heat with electricity and under 2% with utility gas, so most replacements are electric.
U.S. Census Bureau – ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, housing tables B25024/B25034/B25035/B25040 (Census Reporter profile) ↗ · data.census.gov – community profile ↗
More guides: Florida water heater replacement · All local guides