Furnace Installation in Durham, NC
A new furnace here will run from October through April every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Durham County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Durham asks a lot of a furnace
Your furnace will run from October through April here, seven months of the year. Winter nights average 31°F, so it's not a machine that starts up for a few cold snaps and rests. It works most of the year.
59% of homes in North Carolina heat with electricity, and the grid here has had its share of trouble. Over the past ten years the area has seen 7 winter storms and 104 damaging wind events, and in 2024 a quarter of households in the state lost power for 24 hours or more. A new furnace installed here should be one you can count on through a long season and whatever the weather brings with it. Any new gas furnace also has to meet the federal minimum of 80.0 percent AFUE.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors tests HVAC contractors before they can hold this license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it stands behind every furnace this contractor installs, not just yours.
For a furnace installation, that license is what backs the person doing the work. Most cities and counties also require a permit for a furnace replacement, with an inspection once the work is done, and that is likely true here as well. That permit and inspection are separate from the license itself.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size depends on your house, not a rule of thumb. A contractor works this out with a load calculation that looks at your square footage, insulation, windows, and how many rooms need to stay warm from October through April. A furnace that's too big cycles on and off too fast and never runs long enough to heat evenly. One that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up when it's 31°F outside. Skip anyone who quotes a size over the phone without seeing the house.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Age is the first sign. Furnaces built after November 2015 have to hit 80 percent AFUE, so if yours is older than that, it's likely burning more gas than it needs to for the same heat. Watch for other signs too. Rooms that heat unevenly, a furnace that short-cycles or runs longer than it used to, or repair calls that keep coming back. If a technician tells you a repair costs a large share of what a new furnace would, that's usually the point to stop patching and replace it.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how long you plan to stay in the house and how your current furnace is running. Homes here need heat seven months a year, October through April, with winter nights averaging 31°F, so a more efficient furnace has a long season to earn back the difference in fuel use. High-efficiency furnaces also vent differently, often through PVC pipe instead of a metal flue, which can affect installation. A contractor can walk through your current setup and tell you what makes sense for your house.