Furnace Installation in Pocatello, ID
A new furnace here will run from September through June every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Bannock County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heat, and winter lows near 18°F
Furnaces in Pocatello work almost year round. Homes here need heat from September through June, and on winter nights that average 18°F, a furnace has to hold that line for hours at a stretch, not just cycle on and off.
Most homes here heat with gas. A new gas furnace built after November 2015 has to reach 80 percent AFUE, so that's the baseline for anything installed now. Bannock County has also logged 79 winter storms and 46 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and last year 11 percent of Idaho households lost power for a full day or more. A new furnace needs to start reliably on a cold morning after the power comes back on, not just run well on a mild day.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 59%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A high-efficiency gas furnace would save about $80 a year to run in Bannock County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Bannock County home, from EIA household energy data, Idaho fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license belongs to the contractor, not to the furnace going into your house. The HVAC Board tested this contractor and keeps that license on file, so what you know going in is that the business itself was vetted, not that this particular installation gets checked by the state.
That check happens closer to home. In most cities and counties, installing a furnace needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection after the work is done. Gas is the part of this job worth being careful about, and in Bannock County most homes heat with gas, so that local permit and inspection are doing work the state license does not.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, how well the house is insulated, your window count, and your ceiling height, so a contractor works this out with a load calculation rather than a rule of thumb. Guessing high seems safe but it isn't. An oversized furnace cycles on and off too fast, which wears out parts sooner and leaves rooms uneven. Since your house needs heat ten months of the year here, getting the size right matters more than it would somewhere milder.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for heat that doesn't feel as strong as it used to, a furnace that cycles more often, or repair calls that keep coming back. Age matters too. A furnace built before November 2015 may run below 80 percent AFUE, the efficiency floor required of every gas furnace made after that date. With winter lows here averaging 18°F and heat needed ten months of the year, a furnace on its way out is worth replacing before it fails on a cold night rather than after.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how much heating your house actually needs, and here that's a lot. Heat runs from September through June, ten months a year, with winter nights averaging 18°F. A high-efficiency model costs more upfront, but a contractor can walk you through what efficiency rating fits your house and your budget.