Furnace Installation in Parkersburg, WV
A new furnace here will run from October through April every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Wood County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Parkersburg asks a furnace to run seven months of the year
From October through April your furnace is the thing standing between your house and the cold. Winter nights here average 25°F, and most homes in the area heat with gas. A new furnace installed here has to be sized and set up to hold up over that whole stretch, not just get through the first cold snap.
Any non-weatherized gas furnace built since November 2015 has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE by federal rule, so that is the floor you start from, not something you have to ask for. Wood County has also seen its share of winter storms and wind over the past ten years, and power outages with them. A furnace that starts back up on its own once power returns matters here as much as one that runs well while the lights are on.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 25°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 73%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A high-efficiency gas furnace would save about $150 a year to run in Wood County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Wood County home, from EIA household energy data, West Virginia fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not tied to this one furnace install. West Virginia's Commissioner of Labor issues it after the contractor is tested, so the license tells you the person doing the work has been checked by the state, not that a permit has been pulled for this particular job.
That permit is a separate step, and in most cities and counties a furnace replacement needs one from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what catches a bad gas connection or a venting mistake, the part of a furnace install that can actually hurt someone. In Wood County, most homes heat with gas, so that inspection carries real weight here.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on the size of your house, how well it's insulated, your ceiling height, your windows, and how the place is laid out. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage 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 you cold on the 25°F nights this area sees in winter. Have a contractor measure your house and size the furnace for it, not just swap in whatever size is already there.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Age is the first thing to check. If your furnace has been in service a long time, breakdowns get more likely each winter. Watch for other signs too. It cycles on and off more than it used to. Some rooms stay cold. Your gas bills climb without a clear reason. You're calling for repairs more than once a season. Homes here need heat for 7 months of the year, so a furnace that's struggling in the fall is only going to get worse as winter goes on. If yours is old and starting to act up, get it looked at before it fails on a cold night.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- Every new non-weatherized gas furnace sold today has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE, so even a standard model isn't wasteful. High-efficiency furnaces go beyond that minimum, so more of the gas you burn turns into heat in your house instead of going out the flue. Most homes in this area heat with gas and need it from October through April, so that efficiency gets used most of the year, not just on the coldest nights. Whether the higher upfront cost makes sense for your house depends on your current furnace, your gas usage, and how long you plan to stay there. A contractor can walk through those numbers for your specific house.