Furnace Installation in Nantucket, MA
A new furnace here will run from October through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Nantucket County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nantucket asks a furnace to run eight months a year
Heat gets used here from October through May, eight months of the year. Winter nights average 28°F, so through the coldest stretch the burner is cycling on and off for a good part of the day and night.
Power matters as much as fuel. The county has logged 7 winter storms and 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Massachusetts 10% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace needs power to run no matter what fuel it burns, so what happens when the power drops matters here. Any non-weatherized gas furnace installed now has to meet 80.0 percent AFUE, the federal minimum since November 2015.
- 8 months
- October through May, 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
- What size furnace does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, ceiling height, insulation, and window count, not on the size of the furnace you have now. A furnace that's too big cycles on and off too often and wears out faster. One that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep the house warm on the coldest nights, when lows here average 28°F. A contractor will run a load calculation on your actual house to get the right number, since guessing at this leads to years of higher bills or a cold house.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Watch for rooms that won't heat evenly, a furnace that cycles on and off more than it used to, or repair calls that keep coming back. An older furnace working harder than it used to is worth having checked before winter rather than during it. Homes here need heat from October through May, so a furnace that's struggling early in that stretch usually won't hold up through the coldest months. If yours is old and the repairs are adding up, replacing it before it fails on a cold night is worth considering.
- 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. Every gas furnace sold new today has to reach at least 80 percent AFUE, and high-efficiency models go higher than that, meaning less of the fuel you burn is wasted out the vent. With heat needed here from October through May, eight months a year, a more efficient furnace has a lot of months to make that difference count. A contractor can walk through the options for your house and explain what each one means for your specific setup.