HVAC Installation in Oakes, ND
A new system here will heat from September through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Dickey County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Oakes asks a lot of a heating and cooling system
Winter nights here average 6°F from December through February, and homes need heat from September through May. That is nine months of the year the furnace has to hold the house against real cold, not just a chill. A new system has to be sized for that low, not for an average day.
Summer only asks for three months of cooling, with afternoons averaging 79°F, but between the two seasons a furnace or air conditioner here is doing something almost every month of the year. Nearly half the homes in the area heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the heat goes with it. Dickey County has seen 42 winter storms and 36 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and statewide, 7% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. That is worth knowing before you decide what you are installing and how it is set up to run.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 6°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it is the business you check, not the paperwork for this particular installation. Work under $4,000 falls outside this requirement in North Dakota, but a full heating and cooling installation runs well past that line, so the contractor doing this job needs the license.
That license is what stands behind the work here in Dickey County. On top of it, an installation like this one typically needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is finished, which is what confirms the system was put in correctly and is safe to run.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs start costing more than they're worth, or when the system can't keep up anymore. A furnace or air conditioner that's old and needs a major repair, like a cracked heat exchanger or a failed compressor, is usually past the point where fixing it makes sense. With winter lows here averaging 6°F, a furnace that struggles to keep up in December is worth taking seriously rather than waiting out another season. A contractor can look at the age and condition of your system and tell you where you actually stand.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are original to the house and close in age, replacing them together usually makes sense. They're often matched to work as one system, so pairing an old furnace with a new air conditioner, or the reverse, can mean the two don't run as efficiently together. Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling only in the summer months, so the furnace tends to do the heavier work and may wear out first. A contractor can check both and tell you whether one needs attention now or if it makes sense to do the job at once.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old furnace and air conditioner or heat pump, then sets the new equipment in place and connects it to the ductwork, gas line or electrical circuit, and the refrigerant lines. They check that everything is sized right for the house, then test the system to make sure it heats and cools the way it should. In most cities and counties, replacing a furnace or air conditioner needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is done. In North Dakota, the contractor doing the work needs to hold a state license.