Furnace Installation in Appleton, WI
A new furnace here will run from September through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Outagamie County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Nine months of heat, and nights that drop to 13 degrees
Appleton needs a working furnace from September through May. That is nine months out of the year, and on the coldest nights the average low is 13°F. A new furnace here has to hold up under that kind of demand for most of the year, not just get through a cold snap.
Most homes in the area heat with gas, and any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE by federal rule. Winters in this part of Wisconsin also bring ice and wind that can knock out power, and a furnace with a standing pilot will keep running through an outage in a way one that depends on an electric ignition won't.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 13°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 71%
- 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 Outagamie County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Outagamie County home, from EIA household energy data, Wisconsin fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and nothing more. Nobody tests the contractor's trade knowledge to get on that list, and Wisconsin counties and cities are not allowed to layer their own HVAC license on top of it, so the registration is the only state record that exists anywhere in Wisconsin.
What actually stands behind a furnace installation here is the permit process. In most cities and counties, putting in a new furnace requires a permit from the local building office, and the finished work gets inspected. That inspection is where the gas connection and venting get checked, which matters most in a county like Outagamie where 70.7% of homes heat with gas. The registration tells you the business is on record with the state. The permit and inspection are what tell you the installation itself was done right.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house. A contractor measures your walls, windows, insulation, and ceiling height, then factors in how cold it gets here, down to 13°F on a winter night, to figure out how much heat your house loses and how much the furnace needs to replace. Too big and it short-cycles, heating fast then shutting off before it evens out the rooms. Too small and it runs constantly all winter without keeping up. Have a contractor size it for your house specifically.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for repairs that keep coming back, uneven heat between rooms, and a furnace that runs longer than it used to just to hold the same temperature. Age matters too. Furnaces here work hard, since homes need heat from September through May, nine months of the year, and that adds up in wear over time. If the heat exchanger cracks or the furnace can't keep the house warm on the coldest nights, replacing it is safer and more reliable than another patch job. A contractor can look at its condition and tell you where it stands.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how long you plan to stay in the house and what your current furnace is costing you in fuel. Any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 already has to hit at least 80 percent AFUE, so the real question is whether stepping up to a higher-efficiency model makes sense for your situation. With most homes here heating on gas and needing it nine months out of the year, the difference in efficiency shows up on more bills than it would somewhere milder. A contractor can walk you through the options for your house and let you weigh the numbers yourself.