HVAC Installation in Madison, WI
A new system here will heat from October through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Dane County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A system built for eleven months of work
In Dane County, a furnace and an AC unit are almost never both off. Heat runs October through May, eight months, and cooling picks up June through August. That leaves one month of rest a year for the whole system. Whatever gets installed needs to hold up to winter nights averaging 14°F and summer afternoons near 81°F, with barely a break between the two jobs.
Most homes here heat with gas, and the furnace has to be sized for those 14°F nights, not just an average day. The cold snaps are what strain a unit that's too small or too old to keep up. Wisconsin also sees real storm weather, 22 winter storms and 128 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 18% of households here lost power for at least a day in 2024. A new system should be installed with that in mind, since a furnace that can't restart cleanly after an outage leaves a house cold when it matters most.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state. Nobody tested the contractor's work and nothing about their skill was checked before the number was issued. Wisconsin also does not let Dane County or its cities layer on their own HVAC license, so the registration is the only state record you get, no matter where in the county you are.
For a furnace or air conditioner installation, the protection that matters comes from the local building office, not the state. In most cities and counties, replacing that equipment needs a permit, and the finished work gets an inspection before it is signed off. That inspection is where someone with no stake in the job checks the gas connections, the wiring, and the rest of the install against code.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs start happening every year or the unit cannot keep up on the coldest or hottest days. Homes here need heat or cooling most of the year, so a furnace or air conditioner is working hard for most of its life and that shortens how long it holds up. If it needs another repair and it is getting old, that is usually the point where replacing makes more sense than fixing it again. A contractor can look at the specific unit and tell you whether it is worth another repair.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, replacing them together often makes sense, but it is not required. A furnace and air conditioner installed at different times can still work fine together as long as they are matched to each other. The main reason to do both at once is if they are the same age, since one failing usually means the other is not far behind. A contractor can check whether your existing unit will pair well with a new one before you decide.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old furnace, air conditioner, or both, and sets the new equipment in place, connecting it to the ducts, gas line, electrical, and in the case of an air conditioner, the refrigerant lines. They check that the ductwork can handle the new system's airflow and adjust or seal it if needed. Once everything is connected, they run the system through a full cycle, checking that it heats or cools correctly and shuts off the way it should. They will also walk you through the thermostat and anything specific to the new equipment before they leave.