How long does a water heater, furnace or roof last?

Everything big in a house wears out on its own schedule. The roof, the water heater, the furnace, the washer. Knowing roughly when each one is due turns a surprise into a plan, and a plan into money set aside.

Many of the numbers you’ll find online come with no source. The U.S. government publishes two tables that do have a source, and this article uses only those. Every figure below names where it came from and the year it describes.

Where the numbers come from

The Department of Energy (DOE). Each time DOE sets an efficiency rule for an appliance, it publishes a model of how long that appliance stays in service across U.S. homes, built from national housing surveys. The figure is an average, so plenty of units go sooner and plenty go later. The same rules publish what a basic unit costs to buy and install.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD keeps a table of how long each part of a building is expected to last. Its multifamily housing office uses it to plan repairs in apartment buildings (HUD, CNA e-Tool). It isn’t written for houses, but it’s the clearest public list for the parts DOE doesn’t cover: roofs, windows, decks and the pipes under the yard.

Neither is a promise about your unit. How it was installed, how hard it works, your water and your weather all move the date. Treat each figure as the year to start paying attention.

How long do water heaters and furnaces last?

• Water heater with a tank: 10 to 15 years. DOE states it as a range: “Most storage water heaters last 10-15 years” (Energy Saver Guide, 2022).
• Tankless water heater: more than 20 years. The same guide says tankless units “can last more than 20 years.”
• Gas furnace: 21.5 years on average (DOE furnace rule, 2023).
• Heat pump: 19 years on average (the same 2023 rule).
• Central air conditioner: DOE’s average is 21.2 years (DOE central air rule, 2017). HUD plans 15 years for the outdoor condenser (HUD table). They measure different things, so both are here.
• Boiler: DOE gives each kind its own average: 26.5 years for gas hot water, 23.6 for gas steam, 24.7 for oil hot water and 19.2 for oil steam (DOE boiler rule, 2016).

How long do kitchen appliances, washers and dryers last?

All DOE averages, from rules published in 2024.

• Dishwasher: 15.2 years (DOE dishwasher rule).
• Refrigerator: 14.3 years for a full-size one, 8.8 for a compact one (DOE refrigerator rule).
• Oven or cooktop: 16.8 years for electric, 14.5 for gas (DOE cooking rule).
• Washer: 13.4 years (DOE washer rule).
• Dryer: 14 years (DOE dryer rule).

The roof, the windows and the yard

All from HUD’s table (HUD, Estimated Useful Life table). Each material has its own figure.

• Roof: asphalt shingle 20 years, wood shake 25, metal 50, clay or concrete tile 60, slate 75.
• Windows: vinyl 30 years, aluminum 35, wood 35, vinyl- or aluminum-clad wood 50.
• Deck: treated lumber 20 years, composite 50.
• Sump pump: 15 years.
• Water softener or filter: 15 years.
• Sewer line: 50 years.
• Electrical panel: 50 years.

Replacement costs

DOE’s rules also model what a unit costs, bought and installed. Each type has its own figure, and they aren’t averaged into one.

For a water heater or a furnace, the figure is the middle half of what DOE models U.S. homes paying to replace one, raised by CPI-U to September 2026 dollars.

• Water heater: gas tank $1,217 to $1,816 · gas tank, power vent $1,879 to $2,679 · gas tank, condensing $2,096 to $2,910 · electric tank $916 to $1,168 · heat pump tank $1,618 to $2,615 (DOE water heater rule, 2024).
• Furnace: gas, 80% $2,918 to $4,478 · gas, 95% condensing $3,594 to $5,270 (DOE furnace rule, 2023).

For the rest, the figure is a U.S. average in 2022 dollars (heat pumps 2015) for the least efficient model that can be sold, so a more efficient one costs more.

• Dishwasher: standard $470 · compact $508.
• Refrigerator: top freezer $830 · bottom freezer $1,313 · side by side with ice $1,278 · bottom freezer with ice $1,461 · built-in $1,580.
• Washer: top-loading $690 · front-loading $1,027.
• Dryer: electric $656 · gas $794.
• Oven: electric $750 · gas $892.
• Heat pump: split system $5,246 · packaged $5,361, in 2015 dollars (DOE central air rule, 2017).

DOE doesn’t price a roof, windows, a deck or an electrical panel. For those, the number that counts is a written quote for your house, and the receipt from the last time it was done.

Old isn’t broken: when to replace

A 22-year-old furnace can run for years more, and a 9-year-old water heater can fail next week. The age tells you when to start getting quotes and setting money aside. It doesn’t tell you when something will fail.

Every figure above is only as useful as the date you start counting from. For each big thing, write down three facts while they’re easy to find:

1. The day it went in. The invoice or the permit has it. If you have neither, the date it was made is often on its label.
2. A photo of the label. The make, model and serial number are what a pro or a parts store will ask for.
3. What it cost. The receipt is the best estimate you’ll ever have for the next one.

How Homaic does it

Each thing’s record shows when it could come due and what putting it back would cost. Your own receipt comes first. Where you don’t have one, the record shows the government figure for each type, with the source one tap away. Where no one publishes a figure, it asks what you paid.

Look up your home at homaic.io.