HVAC in Westminster, CO: Heating Service for Homes Built in the 1970s and 1980s
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Heating a home in Westminster
Nearly 44 percent of Westminster’s homes were built in just two decades: 10,854 in the 1970s and 11,161 in the 1980s, out of 50,166. A house from either decade is on a replacement furnace by now, or on an original past forty, working through ductwork and a flue designed for the first one. That inheritance is where the heating questions in this city start. Boulder HVAC Pros serves Westminster from Boulder. This page is about what heating a home here actually involves, at 5,380 feet, in a city that sits in two counties, and what to do when yours stops.
Westminster is a city of about 50,200 housing units at roughly 5,380 feet, split between Adams County and Jefferson County, where seven homes in ten heat with utility gas and the median house dates from 1987. Elevation, housing age, fuel, and who serves the address decide most of what goes right or wrong with a heating system here, so each has its own section below.
Elevation: what 5,380 feet does to a furnace
The U.S. Geological Survey puts the town centre at about 5,382 feet above sea level. Air is thinner here, and so is the natural gas in the line, and a gas furnace only burns cleanly when the two reach the burner in the proportion its maker designed. Goodman’s installation manual for its GM9S8 furnaces requires that “when this furnace is installed at high altitude, the appropriate High Altitude orifice kit must be applied,” notes that a different pressure switch may be needed, and prohibits derating by turning the manifold pressure down, because thin air and low pressure together “may cause incomplete combustion, flashback, and possible yellow tipping.” In a house on its second or third furnace, the kit has to have been fitted every time, by whoever did each replacement. Incomplete combustion is how carbon monoxide is made.
Housing age: a 1987 median, built in two decades
The Census Bureau’s 2019–2023 American Community Survey puts the median year built for Westminster’s 50,166 housing units at 1987. The shape behind that median is unusual: the 1980s are the city’s largest decade of building at 11,161 units and the 1970s a close second at 10,854, so 43.9 percent of the stock dates from those twenty years. A further 9,808 units came in the 1990s, and only 23.6 percent were built in 2000 or later. For heating, a 1974 or 1985 house means a replacement furnace or an original past forty, a flue and return sized for the first one, and a thermostat cable that may be a conductor short for a modern control. The questions are about what each replacement left behind, and the build year is the first thing we ask.
Your next step
If your furnace is struggling, or you are weighing the City’s heat pump group-buy before November 18, call Boulder HVAC Pros on (720) 764-0399. Have the furnace’s rating plate, your gas and electric bills, and the house’s build year to hand; those settle most of the questions on this page before we arrive, including which county and which utility you are in.
HVAC services in Westminster
For most homes here the work is gas heating in winter, cooling in summer, and a water heater in between. Here is how each service applies to houses here, with the page that covers it in full.
Furnace repair. With seven in ten homes on gas, this is the January call. On a 1970s or 1980s house the things to check are the flue and return the last replacement inherited as well as the furnace itself; on the post-2000 quarter, a sensor, an igniter, an inducer or a pressure switch. The altitude kit is the first thing we check on either. Start with furnace repair for Westminster-area homes.
Furnace replacement. In a house on its second or third furnace, a replacement is the chance to correct what earlier ones inherited: a load calculation rather than a like-for-like swap, a flue checked against the new appliance, and the altitude orifice kit. The City’s permitting is fully paperless through its eTRAKiT portal, and its Building Division holds walk-through residential permit reviews on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings. See furnace installation.
Heat pumps. With more than a quarter of homes already heating electrically and the City itself running a heat pump group-buy this year, a cold-climate heat pump paired with the existing gas furnace as backup is an ordinary job here. Read heat pump installation and heat pump repair.
Maintenance. An annual inspection is the one service that pays for itself on a furnace working through forty-year-old ductwork: combustion check, static pressure, flue condition. See heating maintenance and tune-ups.
Water heaters and boilers. The gas-heavy stock includes gas water heaters and, in some older homes, boilers; water heater repair and replacement is among the work the City’s home repair programme covers for qualifying households. See water heater services and boiler repair and maintenance.
Air conditioning. From August 1, 2026 permits in Westminster must comply with the 2026 National Electrical Code, which governs the electrical side of any new condenser or heat pump. See AC installation and AC repair.
When it will not wait. A furnace out on a January night in a house full of people is an emergency call: emergency HVAC repair.
Why homeowners in Westminster call Boulder HVAC Pros
- We are based in Boulder.
- We know that a furnace here has to be set up for 5,400 feet, and the altitude kit and pressure switch are the first thing we check on every gas appliance here.
- We know that a second or third furnace in a 1980s house is a different job from an original in a 2005 one, and we ask the build year before we quote.
- And we know the City's process: permits and inspections run through eTRAKiT, the deadline to book a next-business-day inspection is 4 pm, inspection windows are morning or afternoon rather than timed, and the codes in force are the 2021 International Codes, in effect since June 1, 2024.
Why this winter, in Westminster
- the federal 25C credit for efficient heating equipment applied only to property placed in service before December 31, 2025, and any blog still promising a federal heat pump credit for a 2026 install is out of date. What ended and what remains is kept current in our rebates guide.
- the City's heat pump group-buy with Switch Together closes to registration on November 18. It is a no-obligation registration on the City's own page, and for a gas-heated 1980s house weighing a heat pump with furnace backup it is a dated reason to look now rather than in spring.
- the rules are moving. Permits have had to comply with the 2026 National Electrical Code since August 1, 2026, and the Building Division has been consulting this summer on a building code and contractor licensing update, with public sessions in June and July. Where Xcel is your utility, its heat pump rebates also require install and invoice by December 31, 2026.
How Westminster heats: seven in ten on gas
The same survey’s house-heating-fuel table records 47,995 occupied homes: 69.4 percent heat primarily with utility gas, 27.9 percent with electricity, and under one percent with bottled gas. Three caveats travel with those numbers. The survey counts one primary fuel per home, so a heat pump paired with a gas furnace shows up as one or the other; the figures centre on about 2021; and “electricity” covers baseboard and resistance heat, common in apartments and condominiums, as much as it covers heat pumps. What the table does say is that a heating call here is a gas furnace call seven times in ten, which means combustion, venting and gas pressure at altitude, and that more than 13,400 homes already heat electrically, so a heat pump conversion is an ordinary job here.
Who serves this address: two counties, and the City's own programmes
Westminster straddles a county line: the Census Bureau’s 2020 place-by-county file lists it in both Adams County and Jefferson County. Neither is Boulder County, so Boulder County’s EnergySmart rebate does not apply to a Westminster address. What the City offers instead is its own: an Emergency and Essential Home Repair programme for income-qualified, owner-occupied households that covers furnace and water heater repair or replacement, and, this year, a heat pump group-buy run with Switch Together, with registration open until November 18. On utilities, the City’s pages point residents to Xcel Energy’s rebates without saying which utility serves which address, so check the name on your electric and gas bills before assuming a rebate applies. Where it is Xcel, its furnace rebate requires a 95 percent AFUE unit replacing a non-condensing one and Xcel gas service.
Westminster heating FAQ
Is Westminster in Adams County or Jefferson County?
Both. The Census Bureau’s 2020 place-by-county file lists Westminster city under Adams County and under Jefferson County. Neither is Boulder County, which matters because Boulder County’s EnergySmart rebate is for Boulder County residents and does not apply here. Check which county your property is in before relying on any county programme.
How do permits and inspections work for HVAC work in Westminster?
The City’s permitting is fully paperless: applications, plans, inspection requests and results all go through its eTRAKiT portal, and contractors schedule inspections there. The deadline to book an inspection for the next business day is 4 pm, inspections can be scheduled up to five business days ahead, and the window is morning or afternoon rather than a set time. Someone over 18 has to be on site to let the inspector in, an inspection can be cancelled until 6:00 am on the day, and results are posted in the portal. The 2021 International Codes have been in effect since June 1, 2024. Ask the Building Division whether your particular job needs a permit.
Which utility serves Westminster, and does it affect rebates?
The City’s energy pages point residents to Xcel Energy’s rebates but do not say which utility serves which address. Eligibility depends on which utility serves yours, so check the name on your electric and gas bills before assuming a rebate applies. Where it is Xcel, its furnace rebate requires Xcel gas service and a 95 percent AFUE unit replacing a non-condensing one; its heat pump rebates require an Xcel account.
How old are Westminster homes, and why does that matter for heating?
The 2019–2023 American Community Survey puts the median year built at 1987. Of 50,166 units, 11,161 date from the 1980s and 10,854 from the 1970s, and only 23.6 percent were built in 2000 or later. A house from those two decades is on a replacement furnace, or on an original past forty, working through the original ductwork and flue, so the questions are about what each replacement left behind.
Do most Westminster homes heat with gas or electricity?
Gas. Of 47,995 occupied homes, 69.4 percent heat primarily with utility gas and 27.9 percent with electricity, per the same survey. The survey counts one primary fuel per home and cannot separate heat pumps from baseboard, so the electric figure is not a heat pump adoption rate. It does mean more than 13,400 homes here are already electric.
Is a new furnace tax deductible in 2026?
Not through the federal credit homeowners used before. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit applied to property placed in service before December 31, 2025, so a furnace or heat pump installed in 2026 does not qualify for it. What remains is utility rebates, where your utility offers them, and local programmes such as the City’s home repair programme for income-qualified owner-occupiers; the City’s energy page also points income-qualified households to the State of Colorado’s Weatherization Assistance Program. Our rebates guide tracks what ended and what is still there.