Furnace Installation in Albany, NY
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Albany County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, down to 17 degrees
Albany County homes need heat from October through May. That is eight months of the year your furnace has to work, and on winter nights it is holding a house warm against an average low of 17°F.
A new furnace installed here has to be sized for that stretch of cold, not just a mild snap in November. If it burns gas, federal rules require it to reach at least 80 percent AFUE, so it turns most of the fuel it uses into heat instead of losing it out the flue.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 65%
- 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 $150 a year to run in Albany County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Albany County home, from EIA household energy data, New York fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
- What size furnace does my house need?
- A contractor has to work this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage. That calculation looks at how much heat your house loses through its walls, windows, attic, and air leaks, then sizes the furnace to match. A furnace that is too big cycles on and off too fast and never runs long enough to heat evenly. A furnace that is too small runs constantly and still cannot keep up on the coldest nights, and winter nights here average 17°F. Ask the contractor for the load calculation, not just a quote, so you know the number is real.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- An aging furnace that needs more repairs each year, especially the same part failing more than once, is a sign to start planning a replacement rather than wait for it to fail. Uneven heat from room to room, more dust than usual, or a furnace that runs longer to reach the same temperature all point to a system losing ground. Homes here need heat from October through May, eight months a year, so a furnace that is struggling has a long stretch ahead of it before the weather lets up. A contractor can look at the unit's condition and tell you whether repair still makes sense.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on what you value most between the upfront cost and the lower gas use over the furnace's life. Any new non-weatherized gas furnace sold today has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE by law, so the real choice is between that baseline and a high-efficiency model rated higher. Homes here need heat from October through May, eight months a year, so the furnace gets used for a large part of the year. A contractor can walk through the AFUE ratings for the models available and help weigh the difference for your house.