Furnace Installation in Emmett, ID
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Gem County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, down to 23 degrees
Emmett needs a working furnace from October through May. That's eight months out of the year, and on winter nights the temperature averages 23°F. A new furnace has to handle that whole stretch, not just the coldest week.
Gem County has seen 68 winter storms and 12 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outages happen here. Almost half the homes in the area heat with electricity, and a power interruption during a cold snap is a real problem for that kind of system. Any non-weatherized gas furnace installed new has to meet 80 percent AFUE, the federal minimum, so that part of the decision is already made. What's left is choosing a furnace built for the swings this place actually sees.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Idaho licenses HVAC contractors through the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Board. That license covers the contractor, not the specific job, so it does not change based on what the work is or where in Idaho it happens. The board holds the record of who is licensed.
For a furnace installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Most cities and counties also require a permit from the local building office for a furnace replacement, with an inspection once the work is done. That permit and inspection happen alongside the license, not in place of it.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not square footage alone. A contractor measures your walls, windows, insulation and ceiling height, then factors in how cold it gets here, down to 23°F on a winter night, to size the furnace correctly. Too big and it short cycles, wearing out parts faster. Too small and it runs constantly without keeping the house warm. Ask the contractor to walk you through the calculation before they quote a size.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for repairs that keep coming back, a furnace that struggles to keep the house warm, or one that is old enough that parts are hard to find. Homes here need heat from October through May, eight months of the year, so a furnace that cannot keep up during that stretch is worth replacing rather than patching again. Rising gas or electric bills for the same amount of heat is another sign the heat exchanger or burners are losing efficiency. If a technician tells you the heat exchanger is cracked, that is a safety issue and the furnace needs to be replaced, not repaired.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how much you use the furnace and what you are replacing. With eight months of heating season here, a furnace runs a lot more than it would somewhere milder, so a more efficient model has more months each year to make up the difference. Any new non-weatherized gas furnace sold today has to reach at least 80.0 percent AFUE by law, so the real question is how far above that minimum makes sense for your house. A contractor can walk you through the options and price them for your situation.