Furnace Installation in Tacoma, WA
A new furnace here will run from September through June every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Pierce County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heating changes what your furnace needs to do
Winter nights in Pierce County average 31°F, and homes here need heat from September through June. That is ten months a year the burner is doing real work, not a few cold snaps here and there.
Most homes here heat with electricity, but if you are installing a new gas furnace, federal rules set the floor at 80 percent AFUE for units built since late 2015. That is the minimum a new furnace has to clear, not a ceiling. With a season this long, the furnace you choose spends most of the year earning its keep.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration means the contractor's business is on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. There is no trade exam behind it. The state has not tested this contractor's work, only recorded who they are.
For a furnace installation, the check on the work happens at the local building office. Replacing a furnace typically needs a permit, and an inspector checks the completed work, including the gas connection, before it's signed off.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- What size furnace does my house need?
- There is no single number that fits every house. The right size comes from a load calculation that looks at your square footage, insulation, windows, and how the place is laid out, not just the size of the furnace you have now. A furnace that is too big will cycle on and off too often, and one that is too small will run constantly and still leave rooms cold. A contractor can walk through your home and run that calculation before quoting a size.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Age is the first thing to check. Gas furnaces made after November 2015 have to hit at least 80 percent AFUE, so if yours is older than that, it is likely running well below what a new one would give you. Homes here need heat from September through June, so a furnace that struggles or breaks down mid season leaves you without heat for a long stretch, not just a few cold nights. If you are calling for repairs more than once a year, or the furnace is old enough that parts are getting hard to find, replacement is worth looking at seriously. A contractor can tell you whether what you have is still worth repairing.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how you heat now and how long you plan to stay in the house. Winter nights here average 31°F from December through February, and with heat needed nearly ten months of the year, a more efficient furnace runs a lot over a season. Most households in this area heat with electricity rather than gas, so if your home runs on gas, a higher AFUE furnace has more chances to make a difference here than in a place with shorter winters. A contractor can compare models and tell you what efficiency makes sense for your house and your current setup.