New state law raises cost of furnaces and water heaters

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Starting in 2026, all manufactured water heaters and furnace units must meet higher-efficiency ratings or ultra-low NOx ratings to be installed in Colorado.

Low NOx refers to equipment that drastically reduces nitrogen oxide emissions, a harmful air pollutant.

"It's a cleaner product in the sense it brings its own air from the outside for combustion and burning of fuel, so it's a safer product in a house," says Alex Allen, Service Manager at Olson Plumbing & Heating.

The change is meant to cut down pollution, improve air quality, and lower utility bills, but Allen tells me it's highly variable.

"Efficiency is driven by usage. So if you have a known usage. If you have a known usage where you run X amount of hours and you put a higher efficiency furnace in there, yes, you're gonna have savings," said Allen.

The law does not require Coloradans to replace their equipment, but you will have to buy compliant equipment once it comes time to buy new equipment.

Alex tells me companies may charge anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000 to install these emission-compliant models.

Older, non-compliant models cost roughly $5,000.

But there's a loophole for those looking to save money.

"If you have purchased previous products and you sell them by a certain time frame, they'll allow that on some products," said Allen.

That means older, now non-compliant models in stock, which have yet to be sold, are grandfathered in. You can still have them installed for a fraction of the cost.

"If the distributor has it, by all means," said Allen.

Once standard equipment is sold out, it will no longer be available in the state.

___

____

Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.