HVAC Installation in Sioux Falls, SD
A new system here will heat from September through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Minnehaha County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What a system in Minnehaha County has to handle
Winter nights here average 10°F from December through February, and a new furnace has to hold a house against that from September through May, nine months of the year. Summer asks less of the other side, afternoons averaging 81°F for three months, June through August. Add those up and this system is heating or cooling all twelve months, with the furnace carrying the longer stretch.
Most homes here heat with gas, and whatever goes in has to meet the federal minimum efficiency rating, on the furnace side and the air conditioner side both. Minnehaha County has also logged 36 winter storms and 144 damaging wind events over the last ten years, so this system is going in on a property that sees its share of both.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
In South Dakota, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Minnehaha County does not run its own HVAC license either. Whether a contractor needs one comes down to the city, since South Dakota leaves that decision to each city and town, and not all of them require it. There is no state list or state test behind any of it, because the state never set one up.
For a heating and cooling installation, the protection here comes from the permit process instead of a license. In most cities and counties, putting in a new furnace, air conditioner or heat pump needs a permit from the local building office, and the finished work gets inspected once it is done. That inspection happens whether or not the city licenses the contractor.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Start looking at replacement once your furnace or air conditioner is into its second decade of service, or when repairs are getting more frequent. A furnace that's struggling in a Sioux Falls winter with nights averaging 10°F doesn't have much room for error, and a unit on its last legs tends to fail on the coldest night, not a mild one. If a contractor has been out more than once this year for the same system, replacing it is usually the more honest answer than repairing it again.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If they're close in age, yes, it's worth doing together. A furnace and air conditioner installed at the same time are matched to work as one system, and pairing an old unit with a new one can mean the new equipment never runs the way it's supposed to. Homes here need heat nine months of the year and cooling three, so the furnace does most of the work, but the two are tied together through the same ductwork and controls. A contractor can look at the age and condition of both and tell you whether replacing one now and planning for the other later makes sense for your house.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- The contractor removes the old furnace or air conditioner, sets the new equipment, and connects it to your ductwork, gas line or refrigerant lines, and electrical. Once it's in, they test it, running the system through a full cycle to check airflow, pressures and controls before they call the job done. In most South Dakota cities and counties, including Sioux Falls, this work needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection when it's finished, since licensing here is set by the city rather than the state. The contractor handles the permit as part of the job.