Furnace Mandate 2026

Important: Effective January 1, 2026

Colorado's New Low-NOₓ Furnace & Water Heater Requirements

What Colorado homeowners need to know about the upcoming changes

What's Changing

Starting January 1, 2026

Colorado House Bill 23-1161 prohibits the sale or lease of new gas-fired central furnaces and natural-gas water heaters unless they meet ultra-low NOₓ (nitrogen oxide) emissions limits.

Water Heaters

  • Units ≤ 75,000 Btu/hr: max 10 ng/J NOₓ
  • Units 75,000-2,000,000 Btu/hr: max 14 ng/J NOₓ

Furnaces

  • New standards for fan-type central furnaces
  • Ultra-low NOₓ emissions required

Why This Matters for Your Home

Cleaner Air & Health Benefits

NOₓ contributes to ozone and smog formation. This law is designed to reduce smog-forming pollution from household appliances, improving Colorado's air quality.

Avoid Cost Surprises

New units may cost more due to manufacturing requirements. Acting ahead of the deadline can save money and provide more options.

Future-Proof Your Home

Replace now under current rules for more equipment options and installer flexibility, rather than waiting for stricter requirements.

Inventory & Availability

After the deadline, all new stock must comply. Units already in Colorado inventory before that date may still be sold, but options will be limited.

What You Should Do Now

  • 1.

    Check Your Equipment Age & Condition

    If your existing furnace or water heater is near end-of-life, consider planning now for replacement rather than waiting for a winter failure.
  • 2.

    Ask Your Contractor Specific Questions

    • Is the replacement unit compliant with the January 1, 2026 low-NOₓ rule?
    • What is the NOₓ emission rating of the proposed unit?
    • Are there cost differentials now versus later?
  • 3.

    Explore Alternatives

    Consider heat pumps or electric systems. Transitioning sooner may bring rebates, reduce fuel dependence, and align with broader Colorado building-code trends.
  • 4.

    Budget for Possible Premium

    Gas furnaces may see price increases after the standard takes effect. Factor in potential higher pricing if you wait.
  • 5.

    Schedule in Advance

    Many homeowners will act ahead of the deadline. Scheduling now helps avoid seasonal delays and higher labor costs.

Reach Out To Us

Need service, have a question, or just want to talk to someone who knows what they’re doing? Give us a call, shoot us a text, or fill out the form — and we’ll be ready. Real people. Fast answers. No runaround.
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Hear From Our Satisfied Customers

Paul Schneider
2 days ago
Another plumbing issue, this time with slow draining drains. Frankie Vargas came and recommended that we schedule a multi drain cleaning that's 95% effective. He also suggested having our septic system drained and maintained, which we were looking to do, anyway. We'll see how things turn out next week.
Patricia Vance
3 days ago
Sophia was very personable and thorough as she checked the plumbing areas I showed her.
Eric Pavri
3 days ago
We are very pleased with the service provided by Gary Burgess of the WireNut plumbing department. I’ve known for a couple of years that we would have a big expense coming up to replace a lot of of galvanized pipe well over a century old, and figured it would need to be replaced throughout the entire home, including tearing up walls. But Gary inspected everything very carefully, including tracking each line from our basement to where it ran up into the rest of the house, an informed me of the good news that the only old galvanized piping we had was what we could see exposed in the basement and he would be able to connect it to the copper piping that ran through the rest of the house. I appreciated his honest assessment. He was very happy to know that we’d be able to save a lot of money that way. He was also very accommodating about my specific request to keep the line running to our kitchen copper instead of using PEX line for our drinking water. He and his assistant came and did very thorough job and we are happy with the result.
Theresa Hart
3 days ago
Was on time , was courteous, explained everything clearly. Respected the property and cleaned up well. Was very efficient with time, well skilled . Thank You!
Rene' Larrabee
3 days ago
Mason Lucas has done a great job with our HVAC work. Clear demonstration on how to do maintenance for my whole house humidifier.
JDMJ
3 days ago
Shelton tuned-up our furnace and was very professional, personable and informative. He’s a major asset to WireNut.
Montie Huntsman
3 days ago
Did all of the work cleanly and professionally. I highly recommend him and his partner.
Jeff Nyberg
3 days ago
Adam Campos was a pleasure to work with, very professional, knowledgeable and efficient!
Eddie H
3 days ago
Despite defective parts hiccups, Joshua and Michael still finished the job within a reasonable time window. Joshua was knowledgeable, polite and thorough. Again, an overall satisfying experience with WireNut.
Carolyn Parker
3 days ago
Yes! Logan and Conner did a great job! Everything was explained to me, even showed me pictures. I think of the two of them as the A Team. The two of them worked for hours, I don't think they even stopped for lunch. I know they did a very professional job and I won't have any more draining problems. If only we could have such good honest work from everyone. Thankyou so much, Wire Nut is very fortunate to have you guys on their team.
Leald1
4 days ago
WireNut employee Steve Storms came by and installed two lights upstairs. Steve was professional, thorough and let me know about a service which would monitor my electrical system Josh Rullmann from WireNut came by to check on our AC today too. do to warm winter and heat wave coming next week. Everything checked out, Josh did a thorough job to which I appreciated his professionlism. Josh did point out that my filter was a bit lacking as I was using shoot off brand. So I am going to try the recommended filter and we'll how it goes. But, I was absolutely thankful for the customer service Josh gave our house. Give WireNut a call, WireNut and Steve, Josh have your back.
Liz Annala
4 days ago
Franco Vigil was very kind knowledgeable and made sure I knew what was happening the whole time and answered all of my questions. He took time and didn’t make me feel rushed about any decisions. I would recommend him to anyone.
Mark J. Hecox
4 days ago
Well ya know it’s really great to get the news whether it’s good or bad. But it’s always good to know to be prepared before it happen to where you won’t have AC on the hot day. It always happens when you’re not ready for it. But Adam was great & full of knowledge of what he was doing & so much info. I’m glad I did sign up for the year inspection. It has been helpful knowing for that unexpected. Want to thank Wire Nut service & having a great employee working there. He is a great asset to the company. Thanks again Adam…
Nicole Linehan
4 days ago
Gary, was so nice and respectful the whole time he was working on the plumbing repairs he was doing.
Rare Mama Bear
4 days ago
Mason and Jared were SO helpful and went above and beyond! Thanks, guys!!! :)
Arlene Cox
5 days ago
WOW! After an electrical fire in our home, we contacted Wirenut Home Services. The customer service from that very first phone call was amazing. As we were without power, Jason treated the situation as an emergency and he quickly arranged for an estimate by Jared. Jared provided an estimate in a timely manner and explained that their pricing was fixed at the estimate price and that the work would have a lifetime warranty. Though the quote was very expensive, it was reasonable for the amount of work to be performed. The work began almost immediately and we became acquainted with terrifically qualified, friendly and super hard working electricians. These guys worked tirelessly and even worked until 10 pm one evening. We would like to thank them all by name - Josh, Chris, Keyan, Dylan. Additionally, the team called in a plumber, Frankie to inspect for possible issues. He was also terrific. We will certainly use and recommend Wirenut as the experience was top notch! The work was performed in a timely manner and we were EXTREMELY pleased with the experience.
Tammy Taylor
5 days ago
Carter was very helpful and professional. He replaced a floor thermostat and repaired some outlets.
Katherine Duboue
5 days ago
Joshua and the other gentleman that helped him. Sorry, I don't remember his name Were both Very helpful and professional and did an excellent job.

    Need Help? Give WireNut A Call!

    A broken system at home doesn’t just slow things down — it takes over. If the furnace won’t kick on, the water heater’s leaking, or your kitchen sink’s backed up — we’ll be there fast, and we’ll do it right. Our licensed, highly trained techs bring the skill, experience, and care to get the job done right the first time. No runaround. No surprises.