HVAC Installation in Columbia, MO
A new system here will heat from October through April and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Boone County will get in touch.
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What a system in Boone County has to handle
Your new system needs to cover both ends of the year here. Winter nights average 24°F from December through February, and your furnace has to keep pulling against that from October clear through April. Summer afternoons average 86°F, and the same system has to cool the house from May through September. That's 12 months where the house is asking something of it, with only a short break in between.
Almost half of homes in this area heat with gas, so a lot of what gets installed is a furnace paired with an air conditioner, sized to handle a 24°F night and an 86°F afternoon without straining. Storms are part of the picture too. Boone County has logged 8 winter storms and 54 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and statewide almost one in five households lost power for a day or more last year. Whatever gets installed should be able to come back on its own once the power does.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 24°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace your system when repairs start happening every year or the unit is old enough that a breakdown could leave you without heat or air. Furnaces and air conditioners both last a couple decades or more depending on how they've been maintained, but the last few years of a unit's life tend to bring more frequent trouble. Here, homes need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September, so there's really no season when the house can go long without one or the other working. If your furnace or air conditioner is old and starting to act up, it's worth having a contractor look at it before it fails on the coldest or hottest week of the year.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If they're close in age, replacing both at once often makes sense, but it depends on the condition of each unit. A furnace and air conditioner installed together are matched to work as a system, and pairing an old unit with a new one can mean the new one doesn't run as efficiently as it should. If one is still years from the end of its life, a contractor can replace just the one that needs it. A contractor looking at both units can tell you whether they're close enough in age and condition to make replacing them together worth it.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old equipment, sets the new furnace, air conditioner, or both in place, and connects them to the ductwork, gas line or electrical circuit, and condensate drain. Once everything is connected, the contractor tests the system, checks refrigerant charge on the air conditioner, and confirms the thermostat is talking to the new equipment correctly. Any duct or venting problems found along the way usually get addressed at the same time, since they affect how well the new system heats and cools the house. The exact steps depend on what's being replaced and how the current setup is configured, which a contractor can walk you through for your specific house.