Furnace Installation in Los Lunas, NM
A new furnace here will run from October through April every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Valencia County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Los Lunas asks a lot of a furnace
Winter nights here average 23°F from December through February, and homes need heat from October through April. That's seven months of the year your furnace is expected to work, not just the coldest weeks. Most homes in the area heat with gas, so that furnace is doing the job most of your neighbors depend on too.
A new gas furnace installed today has to reach at least 80.0 percent AFUE if it's a standard, non-weatherized model. That's the federal minimum, not a feature, so any installation done right will meet it. Power outages happen here too, so it's worth asking how a new furnace starts back up once the power comes back on.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 68%
- 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 $50 a year to run in Valencia County compared with a gas furnace.
Estimates for a typical Valencia County home, from EIA household energy data, New Mexico fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
New Mexico licenses HVAC contractors through the Construction Industries Division. The state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them. That license covers the contractor as a whole, not this specific furnace install. In Valencia County, most homes heat with gas, so a new furnace here is likely a gas furnace like the one it replaces.
The license tells you the contractor met the state's standard. It does not tell you this particular installation was checked. That comes from the permit and inspection most cities and counties require for a furnace replacement. The inspection is what looks at the gas connection and venting on this job, after the work is done.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, your insulation, your windows, and your ceiling height, so there is no number that fits every house. A furnace that is too big cycles on and off too fast and never runs long enough to heat evenly. One that is too small runs constantly and still leaves the house cold when it is 23°F outside. A contractor works this out with a load calculation that looks at your specific house, not a rule of thumb based on square footage alone.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for uneven heat, rooms that stay cold, a furnace that cycles more than it used to, or repairs that keep coming back. Homes here need heat from October through April, so a furnace that struggles through even part of that stretch is worth having looked at before winter sets in. Age matters too. A furnace nearing the end of its expected life is a bigger risk to fail on a night when it drops to 23°F. If yours is old and starting to act up, replacing it before it quits is usually the better position to be in.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how many months a year your furnace runs and what you are replacing. Homes here need heat for 7 months, October through April, so a furnace here works harder over the year than one in a milder climate. Any furnace built since November 2015 has to hit at least 80 percent AFUE, so the real choice is between that baseline and a high-efficiency model rated higher. A contractor can walk through the difference for your specific furnace and house, since the payoff depends on how much you currently spend to heat it.