FURNACE INSTALLATION IN NORTHERN COLORADO

By the team at Homegrown Heating and Air Conditioning.

How We Size a Replacement Furnace

We size on a load, not on the sticker of the furnace we are removing. The old unit tells us what somebody chose once. It does not tell us what the house needs now.

Our process:

• A room-by-room ACCA Manual J load calculation using the actual construction, insulation, window area and orientation.
• A 99 percent heating design temperature of around 0 to 1 degree, which is the published design value for Northern Colorado.
• Equipment selection under ACCA Manual S so the rated output matches the calculated load.
• A duct review, because a furnace can only deliver what the duct system will carry.
• AHRI matched components, which Fort Collins now requires in the design of new heating and cooling systems.

Oversizing is the most common failure we inherit. Equipment that is too large cycles too often, which costs comfort and shortens the life of the machine.

What Efficiency Level Actually Makes Sense Here

The federal minimum for a residential gas furnace today is 80 percent AFUE. The 95 percent standard that gets quoted in sales conversations applies to units manufactured on or after December 18, 2028, and that compliance date is under a pending federal petition. Anyone telling a homeowner that 95 percent is the law right now is wrong.

What does move the decision here is the venting. Condensing equipment needs a condensate drain and a sidewall vent path. On some older Northern Colorado homes that is simple. On others it decides the whole scope.

What We Check Before We Quote

A replacement quote written from a model number and a photo is a guess. Before we price anything, we look at the six things that decide whether the job is a swap or a project:

• The vent path and termination clearances, including whether a masonry chimney is being orphaned when the furnace changes.
• Combustion air in the mechanical room, which matters most in tight basements and finished utility closets.
• Return duct size and filtration, because most older systems are short on return.
• Gas line capacity and meter sizing for the new input rate.
• A condensate route and a place to drain it if the new equipment is condensing.
• The electrical circuit, disconnect and thermostat wiring available at the furnace.

Anything on that list that needs work goes in the written scope with a price attached. We would rather have an uncomfortable conversation at the estimate than an unexpected one on installation day.

Removal, Installation and Commissioning

Installation day follows a fixed order, and the last third of it is the part that separates a good install from an average one.

• The old furnace is disconnected, the gas is isolated, and the unit is removed and hauled away.
• The plenum, transitions and return connections are rebuilt or adapted so the new cabinet is sealed to the duct system.
• Venting and combustion air are set to the manufacturer’s instructions for this elevation, including the derate the high altitude listing calls for.
• Gas piping is connected and pressure tested, and the condensate drain is run and trapped where the equipment is condensing.
• The system is started, and we record manifold pressure, temperature rise against the nameplate range and blower speed.
• We can schedule the inspection and hand over the documentation.

We are licensed and insured throughout Northern Colorado, and the commissioning readings go in the file with the permit and the manufacturer documentation, so the next technician who opens that furnace knows how it left our hands.

If the duct system is undersized or leaking, we address it as part of the project rather than after. See our ductwork repair, sealing and installation page for how that work is scoped. Once the new furnace is in, annual heating maintenance keeps the warranty conditions satisfied. If you are weighing gas against electric, our heat pump installation and repair page covers what actually carries a Front Range winter, and our Fort Collins HVAC page covers the rest of what we do in town.

A Furnace Replacement in Her Words

Brittany Gandee had a new furnace installed by our team in December, which is the hardest month of the year to be without heat in Northern Colorado.
Her review reads: “I had an absolutely amazing experience! 10/10 recommend!”

Short reviews are often the truest measure of an install. A replacement that goes well is quiet, clean and finished when it was promised, and there is not much for a homeowner to narrate afterward. That is the outcome we build the schedule around. Read more customer reviews from Northern Colorado homeowners.

Get a Furnace Installation Quote

Send us the age and model of the current furnace and a note about which rooms never get comfortable. Contact Homegrown Heating and Air Conditioning to schedule an in-home estimate for furnace installation anywhere in Northern Colorado.