Furnace Installation in Holland, MI
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Ottawa County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat in Holland
Furnaces in Holland run from October through May, eight months of the year. Winter nights average 20°F, and on the coldest nights a furnace has to work through most of that stretch without a break.
A new furnace installed here has to be sized for that stretch of cold, not just a mild winter day. Michigan sees its share of winter storms and wind, and power can go out with them. Most gas furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power drops, so does the heat, even with a full tank of gas. Any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 has to meet a federal minimum of 80 percent AFUE, so that's the floor a new installation starts from.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 20°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84%
- 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 $120 a year to run in Ottawa County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Ottawa County home, from EIA household energy data, Michigan fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to the job itself, so the same license covers this furnace install as any other mechanical work that contractor takes on. It comes from the Board of Mechanical Rules, which means the state tested this contractor before handing it out and keeps a record of who holds one.
For the install itself, the license is what stands behind the work, but the local building office still has a role. Replacing a furnace in most cities and counties needs a permit and an inspection once the work is done, separate from anything the state license covers. With most homes in Ottawa County heating with gas, that inspection is what catches a bad gas connection before the furnace ever runs.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- What size furnace does my house need?
- There's no single number that works for every house. It depends on your square footage, how well the house is insulated, how many windows you have, and your ceiling height. A contractor will do a load calculation, room by room, to size it correctly. Getting this wrong causes problems either way. Too small and it runs constantly without keeping up on the coldest nights. Too big and it short cycles, wearing out parts faster and leaving the house feeling uneven.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Age is the first thing to look at. If your furnace is getting old and repairs are becoming more frequent, replacement starts to make more sense than another repair bill. Watch for uneven heat between rooms, a furnace that runs longer than it used to, or a yellow flame instead of blue. Homes here need heat from October through May, eight months of the year, so a furnace on its way out doesn't get much of a break to reveal problems slowly. If a contractor tells you a major part like the heat exchanger is failing, that's usually the point where replacement is the better call.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on what you're comparing it to and how long you plan to stay in the house. Every non-weatherized gas furnace made since November 2015 has to hit at least 80 percent AFUE. So even a standard furnace today isn't wasteful. High-efficiency models go higher than that, meaning less of the gas you burn escapes unused out the vent. Winter lows here average 20°F and homes need heat eight months of the year, so a furnace here runs more hours over a season than one in a milder climate. That means efficiency differences show up more on the gas bill. A contractor can walk you through the actual models and what each one costs installed for your house.