By Jackson MacDonald, owner of Jack’d Up Plumbing
What does a new furnace in Calgary cost? There is no single price. The cost depends on your home: the size of furnace it needs, how the new one will vent, the state of your ductwork and gas line, and the permit. A licensed journeyman sees all of that at your home and gives you a firm price before any work starts.
Maybe it’s cold this morning and your furnace doesn’t seem to be turning on. Or it still runs, but it is old and you want to price a replacement before it quits. Either way, this guide walks through what moves the price, so a quote makes sense when you see it. For the installation itself, see our furnace installation service.
Our starting price for a new furnace comes first, then everything that moves it.
Starting Price for a New Furnace in Calgary
As of October 2026, a new furnace from Jack’d Up Plumbing starts at $6,700. That figure is a general guide. The price for your home depends on your existing setup, how easy the furnace is to reach, the upgrades the job needs and any changes to meet current code. Those can change the price significantly, and in some homes the existing setup or the upgrades it needs rule out the starting price.
The next section, What Drives the Cost, walks through each of these, including how the new furnace vents, the furnace permit and how easy the furnace is to reach. Your firm price is given at your home, before any work starts, by the licensed journeyman who looks at your furnace. How You Get a Firm Furnace Price in Calgary explains that visit.
New Furnace in Calgary: What Drives the Cost
Here is what goes into the price of a new furnace, and when to plan the work. Most of it sits in your home, which is why the firm price comes after someone has seen it.
Heating load: the size of furnace your home needs
A bigger home, or one that loses heat through older windows, thin insulation or drafts, needs more heat than a smaller, tighter one. So the right size comes from your home, not from the label on the old furnace. A recognized heating load calculation is a recommended way to estimate how much heat your home needs.
Calgary’s altitude adds one more requirement. Alberta’s high-altitude gas bulletin requires gas appliances installed more than 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, which takes in Calgary, to be certified for high altitude. A gas appliance’s rated output must be reduced at higher altitudes, because the air pressure is lower.
The furnace you choose
Under Canada’s minimum efficiency rule for gas furnaces, a new gas furnace for a house like yours must reach at least 95% annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). The rule applies to furnaces manufactured on or after July 3, 2019, so a high-efficiency furnace is now the standard for your home, not an upgrade.
Within that standard, the price moves with the furnace itself: its brand and model, and its controls and features, such as a two-stage, variable-speed control.
How the new furnace vents
A high-efficiency condensing furnace is a Category IV gas furnace. It needs a special venting system that is gas tight and water tight.
Today’s efficiency rules mean more homes have appliances that vent out through a side wall. Alberta’s side wall vent rule covers a Category IV appliance rated above 35,000 Btu (British thermal units) per hour that vents into a side yard beside a neighbouring lot:
- Under 1.2 m (4 ft) from the foundation to the property line, the vent cannot end on that wall and has to take another route.
- From 1.2 m to 2.4 m (4 to 8 ft), it needs a certified fitting that redirects its exhaust, such as a tee or a 90-degree elbow.
- Over 2.4 m (8 ft), there is no restriction.
Another route or a redirecting fitting can add pipe and labour, so it belongs on your quote.
A water heater that shared the old chimney
If your furnace and gas water heater share a chimney, taking the furnace out can leave that vent too large for the water heater alone.
Alberta’s gas bulletin on residential venting requires a check of the chimney before a gas appliance is replaced, and a liner where a masonry chimney is oversized. You can also ask about replacing the water heater at the same time. Either way, the water heater’s venting belongs on your quote.
Gas line, power and the condensate drain
A high-efficiency furnace needs a condensate drain, which carries away the water it makes as it runs. Where the furnace sits has to allow for its gas supply, its electrical supply, its vent and that drain. If any of these has to move or be added, the price moves with it.
Ductwork
Your new furnace connects to the ducts you already have. The price question is whether those ducts suit the new furnace, which the journeyman sees at the visit. A major addition to or change in your ductwork needs a mechanical permit.
The furnace permit
The City of Calgary requires a permit for every furnace installation and replacement, and it issues two kinds:
- A gas permit, issued to a qualified gas fitter, covers the furnace, its venting and the gas line serving it.
- A furnace replacement permit, issued to a qualified HVAC contractor, covers the furnace and its venting only.
Either way, the furnace permit belongs in the price.
Getting the old furnace out and the new one in
Taking out and disposing of the old furnace is part of a replacement. A furnace in a tight mechanical room, a crawl space or down narrow stairs takes longer to remove and install, so access shows up in the price too.
Add-ons: humidifier, thermostat and carbon monoxide alarms
A replacement is a sensible time to add a furnace humidifier, and to ask about a new thermostat. In Calgary, carbon monoxide alarms are required on each level of your home and near all sleeping areas. If yours are missing, ask about them at the visit.
When you replace it
In our experience, furnace work is busiest from the first cold weather until after the holidays. Replacing an old furnace before it fails lets you choose when the work happens. If yours has already quit, call us Monday to Friday and a licensed journeyman will come to look at it.
One more rule if you are renovating: a replacement furnace may not be used to heat a space under renovation.
Repair or Replace: When a New Furnace Makes Sense
When your furnace will not start on a cold morning, the first question is whether to repair it or replace it.
A furnace manufactured before July 3, 2019 was made under Canada’s earlier efficiency rules, before today’s 95% minimum applied. That is a fact about your furnace, not a verdict on it. Whether yours is worth fixing depends on what is wrong with it and what each option costs.
So the journeyman gives you both options, each with a firm price before any work starts: a furnace repair or a new furnace. You compare the two and decide.
Whichever you choose, have a qualified service technician check and service your heating system every year. Our yearly furnace tune-up covers that check and service.
Who Can Install a Gas Furnace in Calgary
In Alberta, Gasfitter Class B is a compulsory certification trade. It covers sizing, installing and servicing natural gas and propane equipment, from residential furnaces to industrial boilers of up to 400,000 Btu. Restricted gas work may be done only by a registered apprentice or certified journeyperson in the Gasfitter trade, or by the holder of a recognized trade certificate.
In Calgary, a homeowner can take out a gas permit only as an Alberta certified journeyman gasfitter working on their own single-family home. So in practice, the permit comes from whoever installs your furnace.
This matters for safety. The City of Calgary’s home heating guidance warns that improper installation of a gas appliance can lead to sickness, injury or even death from fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. Before you accept a furnace quote, ask who will do the gas work and which permit they will take out.
Five Things a Furnace Quote Should Cover
A furnace quote is only as good as what it includes. Check that yours covers these five things.
- A size worked out for your home. The size should come from a heating load calculation for your home, not from the old furnace’s label.
- The venting route. The quote should say where the new vent goes, and whether your side yard allows a side wall vent or calls for a redirecting fitting.
- The water heater’s venting. If the water heater shared the old chimney, the quote should say what happens to its vent: a liner, new venting or a new water heater.
- The permit. Every furnace installation and replacement in Calgary needs one, so it belongs on the quote.
- Removal and connections. Taking out the old furnace, plus any changes to the ductwork, gas line, power or condensate drain.
A quote that leaves these out is not a lower price. It is an unfinished one.
How You Get a Firm Furnace Price in Calgary
Every item above changes the price, and none of them can be seen over the phone. That is why we never price a furnace by phone.
Instead, a licensed journeyman comes to your home, looks at your furnace and your home, and gives you your options with a firm price before any work starts. The visit is $69.99, waived if you go ahead.
Your price is presented and agreed before the work starts, as a flat rate, so the invoice holds no surprises. The person who quotes your furnace is the person who installs it. Only licensed Red Seal journeymen work in your home, never apprentices, and our team has over 50 years of combined experience.
We warrant our labour on a furnace installation for two years, and the new furnace carries its manufacturer’s parts warranty. Most repairs carry a one-year workmanship warranty. Ask us about the warranty on your job.
For a larger job, you can ask about monthly payments through Financeit when you get your price. Financing is on approved credit, and terms apply.
Common Questions About a New Furnace in Calgary and Its Cost
How much does it cost to replace a high-efficiency furnace?
A new gas furnace for a house like yours has to be high-efficiency, so your replacement will be a high-efficiency furnace. Your furnace replacement cost depends on the size your home needs, the furnace’s features, the venting, the water heater’s venting and the permit. A licensed journeyman gives you a firm price for your home at the visit, before any work starts.
How much is a new furnace for a 2,000 sq ft house?
Floor area alone does not size a furnace. Insulation, windows and drafts change how much heat a house loses. A heating load calculation is a recommended way to size it, and in Calgary it must also be certified for high altitude. That is why your furnace installation cost is set after a look at the house.
Is it worth replacing a 30-year-old furnace?
A furnace that old was made long before today’s high-efficiency minimum. Whether to repair or replace it depends on what is wrong and what each option costs. The journeyman prices both before any work starts, so you can compare.
Do I need a permit to replace my furnace in Calgary?
Yes. Every furnace installation and replacement in Calgary needs a permit. It is either a gas permit, taken out by a qualified gas fitter, or a furnace replacement permit, which covers the furnace and its venting only. A homeowner can take out the gas permit only as an Alberta certified journeyman gasfitter working on their own single-family home.
Can you give me a furnace price over the phone?
No, because the price depends on things only a visit shows. A licensed journeyman comes to your home and gives you your options with a firm price before any work starts. The visit is $69.99, waived if you go ahead.
When is the best time of year to replace a furnace?
In our experience, furnace work is busiest from the first cold weather until after the holidays. If you plan to buy a new furnace and yours still runs, replacing it before it fails lets you pick the day. If it has already quit, call us Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Can I spread the cost of a new furnace over time?
Yes. For a larger job, you can ask about monthly payments when you get your firm price. Financing is on approved credit, and terms apply.
Book a Visit for Your Furnace Price
To find out what a new furnace will cost in your home, book a visit. Call 403-800-0050, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or send us a message through the contact form. A licensed journeyman will give you your options and a firm price before any work starts.
About the author. Jackson MacDonald is a Red Seal journeyman and owns Jack’d Up Plumbing, incorporated in 2021. Its technicians are all licensed Red Seal journeymen, and it sends no apprentices into your home. The team has over 50 years of combined experience. Read more about Jackson and how we write and check our guides.
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