The housing
Saugus has about 11,400 housing units, and 70 percent of them are single-family houses. The median home was built in 1962. A little over half the town heats with gas, 22 percent with oil and 19 percent with electricity.
A house from the early 1960s has been through several water heaters. The serial number tells you how old the current one is.
Soft water
Saugus takes its water from the MWRA. It is soft, about one grain per gallon, so a tank here collects scale slowly. A yearly flush and an anode check are enough. How to do both.
Gas and rebates
National Grid supplies both gas and electricity. For a gas smell, leave and call 911, then National Grid at 800-233-5325. Mass Save's 2026 rebate on a heat pump water heater is $750.