Furnace Installation in Crete, NE
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Saline County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heating, and winters that get down to 18 degrees
Furnaces in Crete run from October through May, eight months of the year. The nights they work hardest average 18°F, and a new furnace has to be sized for that cold, not just for a mild fall evening.
Any new gas furnace installed here has to meet the federal minimum of 80 percent AFUE, so the unit keeps that share of the fuel it burns as heat for the house. Close to half of homes in the area heat with gas, and winter storms are common here, with 15 recorded over the past ten years. When the power goes out, a furnace with a standing pilot will still light. One with electronic ignition will not run until the power is back on.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A high-efficiency gas furnace would save about $80 a year to run in Saline County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Saline County home, from EIA household energy data, Nebraska fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the contractor's business on file with the state. Nobody tested their work to get on that list, and nothing about the registration says they know how to size or vent a furnace correctly.
For a furnace installation, what actually checks the work is the local building office. In most cities and counties, replacing a furnace needs a permit and an inspection once the job is done, and that inspection is where a bad gas connection or a venting mistake gets caught. In Saline County, close to half of homes heat with gas, so that inspection is doing real work here.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on your home's square footage, insulation, window count, and layout, so there's no single number that fits every house. A contractor will run a load calculation, called a Manual J, that looks at your walls, attic, windows, and how the house is built before recommending a size. Guessing on size backfires either way. Too small and it runs constantly trying to keep up on a night at 18°F. Too large and it short cycles, heating the house in bursts and wearing out faster.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for rising repair calls, a furnace that struggles to keep the house warm on the coldest nights, or a unit installed before 2015. Furnaces installed after November 19, 2015 are required to run at least 80 percent AFUE, so an older unit is likely burning more gas to make the same heat. Uneven heating room to room, a yellow flame instead of blue, or the smell of gas are also signs to have a contractor look at it, not wait. Since homes here need heat from October through May, a furnace that's already struggling in fall usually won't make it through a full winter without a breakdown.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It can be, especially here, since homes need heat eight months a year and winter nights average 18°F, so a furnace runs a lot. A high-efficiency furnace burns less gas to produce the same heat, which matters most in a place where the furnace rarely gets a break. Nearly half of homes in this area heat with gas, so the fuel savings over the furnace's life add up more here than somewhere with a shorter heating season. A contractor can price out the difference between a standard and high-efficiency model for your specific house.