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Eight months of heat a year is most of the calendar, and Logan County asks for all eight. Overnight lows average 17°F through December, January and February, so the furnace going in this year needs to hold a house steady against real cold, not just take the edge off. That kind of run time wears on an igniter and a blower motor faster than it would somewhere milder. Size matters more here too, since a unit that's too small will run constantly trying to catch up, and one that's too big will cycle on and off and wear out its parts doing it. Get the sizing right for the house, not just the lowest bid on paper.
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Half the homes in Logan County were built in 1964 or earlier.
A furnace going into a house that old needs sizing that matches the house, not the unit it's replacing.
A contractor sizing a furnace for this county should run a load calculation on the house, not just match the number stamped on the old unit. That old unit may have been wrong from the start, or the house may have changed since it went in. Ask what the manufacturer's rating is for low-temperature performance, since a furnace that struggles at 17°F will run long and hard all winter trying to keep up. Ask about the warranty on the igniter and blower motor too, since those parts take the brunt of eight months of run time. A lower bid that skips the load calculation is not a better deal.
Utility gas heats 57.3% of homes in Logan County, more than any other fuel. If gas is already running to the house, putting in another gas furnace is the straightforward choice, and most installers here will have parts and experience matched to it.
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A load calculation looks at the house as it is now, the square footage, the windows, the insulation, not as it was when it was built. If the house is one of the older ones in the county, ask the contractor whether the sizing number comes from that calculation or from matching the furnace already in there. The old furnace is not proof of the right size, it is just what got installed last time.
Square footage gives a rough starting point, but houses the same size can need different furnaces. Ceiling height, how many walls face the wind, how much glass is in them, all of it changes how fast the house loses heat. A load calculation accounts for this. A tape measure and a chart on the wall do not.
A furnace too big for the house reaches temperature fast and shuts off, then does it again soon after. Short cycles like that mean the heat exchanger never gets fully warm and the blower never settles into steady airflow. The house feels uneven, warm in gusts, and the ignition system wears out faster from all the extra starts.
Estimates for a typical Logan County home, from EIA household energy data, Colorado fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
The old furnace comes out first, along with the flue pipe and any ductwork that doesn't match the new unit. The gas line gets pressure tested before anything hooks up to it, and the vent gets checked too, since a furnace this size needs somewhere for exhaust to go that meets code. Electrical runs to the blower motor and control board, and a tech will check that the breaker matches what the new unit draws rather than assuming the old wiring is fine as is. Once it's set and connected, the furnace gets fired up and run through its cycles while the tech checks gas pressure, temperature rise across the heat exchanger, and airflow at the registers. That last check matters as much as the install itself, since a furnace that's wired right but tuned wrong will still run poorly.
