Furnace Installation in Huntington, WV
A new furnace here will run from October through April every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Cabell County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What Cabell County winters ask of a furnace
Your furnace has to run seven months a year here, October through April, on nights that average 27°F. Half the homes in this area heat with electricity, so a lot of furnaces are working alongside a grid that doesn't always hold. West Virginia saw 35% of households lose power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and the ten years before that brought 15 winter storms and 71 damaging wind events. A new furnace here needs to handle long, steady cold and keep working through the kind of weather that knocks out power.
Any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 has to meet 80 percent AFUE by federal rule, so that's the floor for what goes into your home. Given how many nights here sit near freezing, it's worth knowing where the unit you're installing stands above that minimum.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 27°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the West Virginia Commissioner of Labor, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The state tested that contractor before handing it out, and it keeps a record of who holds one.
For a furnace installation, that license is what stands behind the work in Cabell County. On top of it, most cities and counties here require a permit for a furnace replacement, with an inspection once the job is done. That inspection is a separate check, done by the local building office, not the state licensing board.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your insulation, your windows, and how your house is laid out, not just floor space alone. A furnace that's too big will short cycle and wear out faster. One that's too small will run constantly and still leave rooms cold on nights near 27°F. A contractor works this out with a load calculation that looks at your actual house, not a rule of thumb, and that's the only way to get the number right.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for uneven heat, rooms that won't warm up, a furnace that cycles on and off more than it used to, or repair calls that keep coming back. An older furnace working harder to keep up is a sign, especially with 7 months of heating season here and winter lows averaging 27°F. If yours is nearing the end of its expected life or a repair estimate starts to rival a replacement, that's the point to talk to a contractor about installing a new one instead of fixing the old one again.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- Any furnace installed new today has to meet 80.0 percent AFUE at minimum, and high-efficiency models go well above that. With heat needed from October through April, more of the fuel you burn turns into heat in your house instead of going out the flue. Whether the higher upfront cost of a high-efficiency model makes sense for you depends on your fuel type, your usage, and your budget, and a contractor can walk through those numbers for your specific house.