Water heater replacement problem

I need to replace my 20 year old gas water heater. My current water heater is located in a small utility room next to the garage and is vented through the roof. I have been told that a vent will need to be added in the wall near the water heater in order to bring it up to code because the water heater is located in such a small room. We really didn't want to go to the trouble and expense to knock a hole in this wall and add this vent. Since the garage next to the utility room is not heated, we fear that cold air would enter the room through this new vent and cause increased heating bills in the winter. We weren't counting on making any major modifications just to change out our water heater.

We thought about switching to an electric water heater but wasn't sure what was involved with making this conversion. Could someone tell me if this is an easy conversion from a labor standpoint? I assume that it would require some electrical work but I wasn't sure what else was involved. I am also not sure if we would be happy with an electric water heater since they cost more to operate.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Electric is generally a bad idea for water heating. While electric's efficiency is very high, the generation of electricity is not (think 33-35% efficient.) Gas makes a lot more sense for water heating from the actual cost/overall efficiency standpoint and the economics reflect that. I would get my butt handed to me exchanging gas for electric water heating.

As far as the utility room goes, you should be able to install a vent in the door to the room without resorting to more extreme measures. A typical gas burner is about 40,000 Bth/hr and should not exceed what you have already. I have the same issue with code...but the previous owner snuck by a year ago. Code actually makes sense with regard to proper ventilation of the space.

Electric is also a pain since the the elements tend to fail often (my experience with very hardwater service growing up--I was the one shoveling out the lime at the barn and home.) The current big negative of gas is that the FVIR controllers are unreliable. (Do not buy a Lowe's water heater.)

You would probably need some panel upgrades for electric.

vents

You need TWO vents. One in, or near, the ceiling to vent any combustion or gas fumes, and one near the floor to provide combustion air. These vents are mandatory, must be of a certain minimum size, and not negotible. The only door to the room must be into the garage or you cannot put the vents in the wall between the room and garage, because that would give a path for any carbon monoxide fumes to enter the house, and would also be a violation of the fire codes.

Can you put a louvered door on the room?