Furnace Installation in Sturgis, SD
A new furnace here will run from September through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Meade County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near 12 degrees
Furnaces in Sturgis work from September through May. That's nine months out of twelve, with winter nights averaging 12°F. A furnace here spends most of the year cycling on and off to hold a house against real cold, not a mild chill.
Meade County has logged 146 winter storms and 373 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A new furnace needs to be installed to handle that kind of weather, not just an average night. If the furnace you're installing is a non-weatherized gas model built after November 19, 2015, it has to meet 80.0 percent AFUE by federal rule, so any unit going in now already clears that bar.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 12°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 Meade County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Meade County home, from EIA household energy data, South Dakota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
In South Dakota, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
That means whether a contractor needs a local license depends on the city or town, not the state. Meade County covers both incorporated towns and unincorporated land, and the rule that applies to a furnace install can differ depending on which side of a town line the house sits on. There is no state license behind the work either way.
What stands between a homeowner here and a bad install is the permit. Most cities and counties require a permit from the local building office to replace a furnace, and an inspection once the work is done, and that inspection is what checks the gas connection and the venting rather than any license the contractor holds. In a county where almost half the homes heat with gas, that inspection is the part of the job that matters most.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house alone. A contractor measures your walls, windows, insulation and ceiling height, then works out how much heat your house loses on a cold night here. A furnace that's too big cycles on and off too fast and never runs long enough to heat evenly. One that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up when it's 12°F outside. There's no shortcut that replaces this calculation.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for uneven heat, rooms that won't warm up, or a furnace that runs longer than it used to just to hold the same temperature. Rising repair calls are another sign, especially if the same part keeps failing. An older furnace working harder than it used to is worth having checked, since homes here need heat running from September through May. If yours is struggling before winter sets in, it's better to have a contractor look at it now than wait for it to quit on a night near freezing.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how much heat your house needs and how long you plan to stay in it. Any new furnace installed today has to reach at least 80.0 percent AFUE, so the real choice is between that minimum and a higher-efficiency model above it. With heat needed here nine months of the year, a furnace that runs this often has more chances to make the higher efficiency count. A contractor can walk through the models and what each one means for your specific house.