Furnace Installation in Bismarck, ND
A new furnace here will run from September through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Burleigh County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and winter nights near 5 below
A furnace in Bismarck works from September through May. That is nine months of the year carrying the house, with winter nights that average 5°F. A new furnace here needs to be sized and installed for that kind of cold, not just a mild one.
Most homes in Burleigh County heat with gas, so the furnace going in is likely a gas furnace. Any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 has to hit at least 80 percent AFUE, and that is the floor to expect from a new installation, not a feature to ask for.
The area has also logged 27 winter storms and 96 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and some households here have gone a full day without power. A furnace that starts back up on its own once power returns matters in a place where storms take the grid down.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 5°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 64%
- 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 $100 a year to run in Burleigh County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Burleigh County home, from EIA household energy data, North Dakota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, but the license covers the contractor as a business, not this particular furnace install. North Dakota also draws a line at $4,000. Work under that does not need a licensed contractor at all. A furnace replacement runs well past that mark, so the contractor doing this job is expected to hold that license.
The license is not what catches a bad connection on the job itself. That comes from the local building office, which in most cities and counties requires a permit for a furnace replacement and an inspection once the work is done. Most homes in Burleigh County heat with gas, and that inspection is the check on whether the gas line and venting were done right, separate from whatever the state license already vouches for in the contractor.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- What size furnace does my house need?
- A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage. That calculation looks at your insulation, your windows, your ceiling height, and how much outside air gets in, since two houses the same size can need different furnaces. With winter lows here averaging 5°F, undersized is the bigger risk than oversized, because a furnace that can't keep up will run constantly and still leave rooms cold. A contractor licensed in North Dakota can do this calculation and size the unit to your house.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for rooms that won't get warm, a furnace that cycles on and off more than it used to, or a jump in what you're paying to heat the same house. Age matters too. Furnaces built on or after November 19, 2015 have to hit at least 80 percent AFUE, so an older unit running below that is burning more gas to make the same heat. If yours is old enough that parts are getting hard to find, or a repair keeps coming back, replacement is usually the better call. Homes here need heat from September through May, so a furnace that's struggling has nine months a year to prove it.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how long you plan to stay in the house and how much you'd save on gas, and a contractor can walk through those numbers for your situation. What's true everywhere is that a high-efficiency furnace uses less gas to produce the same heat, which matters here since 63.6 percent of homes in Burleigh County heat with gas. It also matters more in a place where the furnace runs nine months of the year than somewhere it barely runs at all. A contractor can price both options for your house and tell you what the difference actually looks like on paper.