When you need a new furnace, there’s typically not much time to hem and haw over costs. In cold weather, being without your furnace can be dangerous to residents living in the home and potentially lead to water damage from a burst pipe in a deep freeze. But you don’t want to overpay for your furnace replacement, either.
If you’ve been having repeated issues with your furnace or know that the heat source is nearing the end of its functional life, be proactive by researching your cost options now.
HomeAdvisor reported the average cost of a new furnace in the U.S. is $4,706, including materials, equipment and labor. However, shipping costs for the new furnace and availability and demand of labor vary widely in typical cost across the U.S.
To help you get a better picture of what you might need to spend to have your new furnace up and running, here’s the average cost of furnace replacement in 12 different U.S. cities, according to HomeAdvisor:
— Orlando, Florida: $3,874.
— Montgomery, Alabama: $4,000.
— Detroit: $4,314.
— Omaha, Nebraska: $4,420.
— Salinas, California: $4,428.
— Pittsburgh: $4,600.
— Seattle: $4,602.
— Denver: $4,698.
— Los Angeles: $5,116.
— Washington, D.C.: $5,518.
— Boston: $6,234.
— San Antonio, Texas: $6,343.
To help you understand how the total cost of your furnace replacement adds up, we break down the details about the furnace itself, labor and additional materials costs for installation and how to keep your new furnace in working order after it’s installed.
[READ:Central AC Unit Installation Costs: How Much You’ll Spend to Keep Cool]
How Much Does a Furnace Cost?
First, know if you have a gas, electric or oil furnace. Electric furnace installation tends to be the least expensive, ranging between $3,000 and $7,000, according to HomeAdvisor. Installing a natural gas furnace falls in the range of $3,800 to $10,000, and an oil furnace ranges $6,750 to $10,0000.
It is possible to change the type of furnace you have, or even to a new system like a heat pump, which typically requires less energy to heat through electricity, and is considered more environmentally friendly.
The cost to transfer from a furnace heating system to heat pump will be more than a simple furnace replacement, but homeowners who switch in 2023 can claim a tax break up to 30% of the cost to purchase and install heat pumps in their homes, along with up to $2,000 for needed electrical upgrades to install the new system. (The White House offers more information, along with other low- and moderate-income programs here.)
“The biggest cost factor when installing a new furnace is generally the furnace unit itself,” Cassie Morien, director of strategy for Modernize Home Services, based in Austin, Texas, wrote in an email. Naturally, a furnace that’s too small won’t heat the house properly, and the bigger the furnace the higher the cost.
Furnace sizes are based on the measurement of British thermal units, or Btu, which is the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
To figure out how many Btu your furnace must have to heat your home, you need to know the square footage of your house and what climate zone or region your house is in — there are five. Armed with that information, you can find many Btu calculators online that will help you determine your furnace size, including Modernize’s calculator, which has a climate zone map to help you determine the right zone and also asks the rough age of your windows and insulation.
According to the calculator, for a 2,000-square-foot home with new windows in the last 15 years in zone 3 (which includes the mid-Atlantic, roughly all of Kentucky, parts of the lower Midwest and upper South and some patches of New Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington), the right-size furnace is 80,000-90,000 Btu. The price of that size furnace varies widely depending on brand and distributor, but ranges between $1,000 and $3,000 for a standalone item from the likes of Lowe’s, HVACDirect.com, Walmart and Amazon.
[Read: How Much Does a Radon Mitigation System Cost?]
How Much Does Furnace Replacement Cost?
Aside from the furnace itself, there are a few factors that contribute to the total cost of getting it up and running. Here’s what to keep in mind:
— Labor. HomeAdvisor estimates about 20% to 30% of the total cost of your installation will be labor costs. Of course, this number goes up or down for a variety of reasons — location and availability of skilled laborers to do the work, for one, and the time of year and demand for furnace installation can also impact the total price tag.
— Old furnace removal. How hard is your current furnace to get to and remove? Furnace removal can be simple or complicated, and is often a part of the package for new furnace installation. When you get estimates from contractors, be sure this is part of the total cost — including disposing of the old unit.
— Existing venting. There are other factors about your home and existing furnace that could also drive up the cost. For example, “if you’ve had an older unit that vents into a chimney and want something more efficient, you’re going to abandon the chimney and run the piping outside of the house,” Tim Christie, installation manager for the HomeServe Energy Services division serving Long Island, New York, and a licensed master plumber, says.
— Local permits. Many parts of the country require permits to install new furnaces, and those often come with a small cost. Many HVAC professionals will take care of this part of the process for you, but be sure to check what your local municipality or county requires, and verify the contractor will be doing so.
— Ductwork. “Consider what the condition of your ductwork is,” Christie says. You may be able to see some ductwork in your attic or basement, as well as coming out of your current furnace. Old ductwork or ductwork that is too small may need to be replaced to ensure a new furnace can function properly and efficiently. Home improvement project information company Fixr reports the average cost to install ductwork is between 50 cents and $3 per square foot based on the size of your home. Christie notes that a home with a simpler layout will cost less — for example, if it’s easy to feed the ductwork to each room from the attic, the duct replacement project should be fairly simple.
— Insulation, windows. The energy efficiency of your home plays a role in the type of furnace you may need, but you may also decide to improve your home and cut down on heating costs all winter. New insulation and windows in an old home can help slash the amount of heat escaping in cold weather, so your furnace doesn’t have to work as hard. If you can’t afford to replace windows, weatherstripping to reduce air leakage can help.
[READ: How to Make Your House Warm and Cozy for Winter.]
How to Keep New Furnace Maintenance Costs Down
Just like with every part of your heating and cooling system, it’s vital you change your air filter for your furnace regularly. Most recommendations say to do it between every 30 and 90 days. If you have pets that shed or live in a dusty or high-pollen region, you may want to change it closer to every 30 days.
You should also have your furnace serviced by a professional once a year to ensure parts are clean and it’s in good working order. Ideally, reach out before you’ll be turning the heat on regularly for the year, which Christie also recommends as a good time to replace a furnace.
“Just before heating season, that’s a good time to start looking at heating systems,” Christie says, adding that in the Northeast that’s in September and October.
Morien adds that if you notice higher than usual electric or gas bills, depending on the type of furnace you have, it’s a good idea to have a professional come take a look as well.
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Furnace Replacement: How Much a New Furnace Costs originally appeared on usnews.com
