What Size Furnace Do I Need for My Minneapolis‑St. Paul Home?
In the market for a new furnace?
If so, you may have seen that furnaces come in different sizes (i.e., different BTU outputs), and you might be wondering which size you need.
Unfortunately, without having a licensed professional look at your home, it’s impossible to say what size is right for your home.
Why?
The size of your furnace depends on several factors, including:
- The layout and design of your home
- Your home’s insulation levels
- Type of roofing on your house
- Materials of your home
- And much more
This is called a load calculation, and is the only way to ensure you’ll get the right size furnace for your home.
Below, we’ll go into more detail about:
- How a load calculation helps you find the right size furnace
- Why you need a correctly-sized furnace in the first place
Want a size recommendation for your new furnace?
How a load calculation helps you find the right size furnace
Like we mentioned in the beginning, a load calculation is the best way to ensure you end up with a correctly-sized furnace.
A heating load calculation involves looking at several factors specific to your home to determine how much heat your home needs.
Some professionals don’t take the time to do a load calculation and only provide size recommendations based on the square footage of your home. However, square footage is only one of the many factors to consider when sizing a furnace.
In addition to square footage, a professional should also consider:
The condition of your home’s ductwork
- The layout and design of your home
- Your home’s insulation levels
- Type of roofing on your house
- Materials of your home
- How many people live in your home
- The orientation of your home (i.e., north-facing, east-facing, etc.)
- The height of your home’s ceilings
Our advice? Make sure the HVAC contractor you hire to install your new furnace performs a load calculation to take into account all of those factors—not just the square footage of your home. If you hire a contractor that doesn’t consider those factors, you could end up with an over- or undersized furnace, which will just cost you more money in the long run.
Why you need a correctly-sized furnace
You might think a bigger furnace is automatically better—but that’s actually not the case.
When it comes to furnace shopping, a furnace that’s too big or too small for your home can cause some serious issues.
For example, a furnace that’s too big causes problems such as:
- Higher energy bills: A furnace that’s too big will heat your home quickly and then shut off, and repeat that cycle continuously. The constant shutting on and off is not energy-efficient and will lead to higher energy bills.
- Uneven temperatures: Since an oversized furnace heats your home really fast, it doesn’t give the blower enough time to push the air to every corner of a room. This creates warm and cold spots in your home.
- Reduced furnace lifespan: The frequent starting and stopping wears out furnace parts, which leads to a shorter lifespan for the unit.
A furnace that’s too small creates the same problems, but for different reasons:
- Discomfort: A furnace that’s too small will constantly struggle to heat your home to the desired temperature. This means you’ll likely feel greater discomfort.
- Increased energy bills:& The furnace will run longer to heat your home, which leads to higher energy bills.
- Wear and tear on your furnace: Longer run times puts extra stress on furnace parts, which could lead to breakdowns and frequent repairs.
Want a furnace recommendation from a pro?
We’re happy to help! Our team of comfort specialists will perform a heat load calculation to ensure you get the right size furnace for your home.
For more information about what to expect when you hire us, visit our furnace installation page.