Furnace Installation in Harrisburg, PA
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Dauphin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, and winters that test the grid
In Dauphin County, a furnace runs from October through May. That is eight months of the year, with winter nights averaging 24°F. A new furnace here has to hold up to a long season, not just a few cold snaps.
The county has seen 18 winter storms and 149 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and last year 15% of Pennsylvania households lost power for at least 24 hours. A furnace that starts back up on its own when the power returns matters here. Any non-weatherized gas furnace installed today has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE, the federal minimum, so the question isn't whether a new furnace clears that bar but what it does beyond it.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 24°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Nobody tests the contractor's gas or furnace work to get it. Pennsylvania also keeps cities and towns from layering their own HVAC license on top, so this is the whole of what the state checks, wherever in Dauphin County you are.
With no license behind the work, the checking on a furnace install falls to the local building office. In most cities and counties, replacing a furnace needs a permit there, and an inspection once it's in. That inspection is what confirms the gas connection and venting were done right, and it is the protection this job has in Dauphin County.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on your home's square footage, insulation, ceiling height, and windows, so there's no single number that fits every house. A contractor works this out with a load calculation done on your specific home, not a chart based on square footage alone. Getting it right matters here, since your furnace needs to keep up through winter nights averaging 24°F. Too big and it short cycles, too small and it can't keep up when it's coldest.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Start with the age of the unit. Furnaces wear out over time, and if repairs are getting more frequent or more expensive, that's usually a sign the furnace is nearing the end of its life rather than just having a bad year. Uneven heat between rooms and a furnace that runs longer than it used to are also signs it's struggling. With heat needed here from October through May, it's worth replacing a furnace that's already struggling before it fails on one of those 24°F nights.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how long you plan to stay in the home and how much you run your furnace. Homes here need heat 8 months a year, so a more efficient furnace has more months to make up the difference in fuel use than it would somewhere warmer. Every new non-weatherized gas furnace sold now has to hit at least 80 percent AFUE by law, so even a standard model isn't inefficient by old standards. A contractor can walk through the efficiency ratings available and what fits your house.