Furnace Installation in Hobbs, NM
A new furnace here will run from November through April every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lea County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of heat, and nights near 28°F
Hobbs needs heat from November through April. That's half the year with a furnace working most nights, and winter lows here average 28°F. A new furnace has to be sized to hold a house steady through that stretch, not just take the edge off a cold snap.
More than half the homes in this area heat with electricity, and 13% of New Mexico households went at least 24 hours without power last year. That's worth asking about when you're choosing a furnace, since a gas furnace with a standing pilot keeps working when the power doesn't. Any new gas furnace installed today also has to meet the federal minimum of 80 percent AFUE.
- 6 months
- November through April, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests and licenses HVAC contractors across New Mexico. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it covers this install because it covers the person doing it. It is the state's record that the contractor passed its test and is accountable to it.
For a furnace install, that license is what stands behind the contractor's qualification. In most cities and counties, a furnace replacement also needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is done, and that inspection is what catches a bad gas connection or a venting mistake before it becomes dangerous. Whether that applies here depends on the local building office, but the state license is what backs the person doing the work either way.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much insulation you have, and how many windows you have, so there is no single number that fits every house. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a rule of thumb based on the size of your old furnace. Putting in one that is too big or too small for your house causes problems either way, so this is worth getting right rather than guessing.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for uneven heat between rooms, a furnace that runs longer than it used to, or repairs that keep coming back. Most furnaces are built to last a couple decades, and once yours is getting old, a breakdown in the middle of a cold night becomes more likely. Winter lows here average 28°F from December through February, so a furnace that fails is not something you want to wait on. If yours is old and starting to act up, get it looked at before it forces the decision for you.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- A high-efficiency furnace burns less gas to make the same heat, and homes here need heat for 6 months of the year, from November through April, so that adds up over a long season. Any new gas furnace has to meet a federal minimum of 80 percent AFUE, but high-efficiency models go well above that. Whether the higher upfront cost makes sense for your house is something a contractor can walk you through with real numbers for your situation.