Heating in Houston: furnaces, heat pumps and the few boilers

Quick answer: Very few Houston homes have a boiler. EIA data shows 61% of Texas homes heated by a furnace and 19% by a central heat pump, while boilers are too rare in Texas for EIA to publish a reliable figure. Heating work here is done by TDLR-licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, and CenterPoint pays incentives from $200 on qualifying heat pump replacements. A new gas furnace typically costs $3,800–$12,000 installed nationally (HomeGuide, checked September 2026).

We will be straightforward: in Houston the heating system is usually half of an air conditioning system. Most homes have a gas furnace or electric heat strips paired with central air, or a heat pump that heats and cools. Boilers here are overwhelmingly commercial and industrial, which is why the boiler firms listed below serve plants, hospitals and larger buildings. This guide covers the licensing, rebates and rules that apply to the heating Houston homes actually use.

How Houston homes are heated

Main heating equipment (EIA, 2020)	Texas	United States
Furnace (warm air)	61% of homes	60%
Central heat pump	19%	13%
Steam or hot water boiler	Too few to estimate reliably	8%

These are statewide figures from the EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Houston’s mild winters mean a heating system runs for fewer hours than in the north, which tends to favour heat pumps and cheaper furnaces; our guide to heat pumps and gas replacements covers the running-cost questions.

Texas boiler law and homes

If you do have a boiler, the state rules are light for homes. Texas Health and Safety Code section 755.022 exempts heating boilers in buildings used exclusively for residential purposes with accommodation for not more than four families from the state’s inspection, certificate of operation and fee requirements. Larger apartment buildings and commercial premises fall under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) boiler programme, which is where most of Houston’s boiler work sits.

Who can work on your heating: TDLR licences

In Texas, heating and cooling contracting is licensed by TDLR. Its summary of the air conditioning and refrigeration (ACR) programme says:

TDLR rule	What it means for you
ACR contractor licence	Anyone offering to design, install, repair or maintain an environmental air conditioning system, or a process cooling or heating system, must hold one
Class A	Any size of unit
Class B	Cooling systems of 25 tons and under, heating systems of 1.5 million BTU/hour and under
Endorsements	Environmental air conditioning; and/or commercial refrigeration and process cooling or heating
Company rule	An ACR company must employ a licensed ACR contractor at each permanent location; without one it cannot collect a fee or enforce the contract

TDLR adds that technicians doing non-exempt work must at least be registered as ACR technicians, and that mini-split systems are not “self-contained” units, so installing one for the public needs a licensed contractor. You can search any licence on TDLR’s website.

CenterPoint Energy incentives

CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric runs two relevant offers for homes in its service area:

Offer	What CenterPoint says
HVAC System Replacement Incentives	Incentives start at $200 and may increase depending on the installation; equipment must be at least 15.2 SEER2; central AC, heat pumps and mini-splits are eligible; applied to the invoice by a participating contractor
ComfortCheck A/C Tune-Up	For central AC or heat pumps at least one year old and working, with no tune-up in the past five years (excludes apartments)

CenterPoint notes the current Texas minimum is 14.0 SEER2, so a unit that simply meets the minimum will not qualify. The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, which paid up to $2,000 towards a qualifying heat pump, applied to installations through 31 December 2025 (ENERGY STAR). Some older cost guides and contractor pages still mention it, so do not count it in a 2026 budget.

Permits in Houston

The Houston Permitting Center handles mechanical permits, including a permit type for alteration of HVAC systems, and contractors must register their licence with the city before pulling one. Ask your contractor to confirm the permit is included in the price and that the city inspection will be booked.

Typical heating prices

We have not found a Houston-only price survey. HomeGuide puts a new gas furnace at $3,800–$12,000 installed and an air-source heat pump at $10,000–$25,000 installed for an average-sized house, while a ductless heat pump runs from $2,000 to $17,000 depending on the number of zones. If you do have a boiler, a standard-efficiency replacement is typically $2,200–$7,000. All figures were checked in September 2026 and are national; see our US boiler and heating costs guide for the full table. Because heating and cooling are usually replaced together in Houston, many quotes are for a full system; ask for the heating and cooling parts to be priced separately so you can compare.

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How to choose a heating contractor in Houston

Check the TDLR licence and the endorsement: environmental air conditioning covers home heating and cooling.
Check the permit. Ask who pulls the City of Houston permit and when the inspection will happen.
Size, not just swap. Oversized systems are common in hot, humid climates; ask how the size was chosen.
Rebate eligibility. Ask whether the firm is a CenterPoint participating contractor and whether the unit is 15.2 SEER2 or better.
For a boiler, ask whether the firm handles residential hydronic systems; most Houston boiler specialists are commercial.

Questions to ask before you sign

Will you size the new system from a heat-loss calculation, or simply match the old unit? HomeGuide notes a Manual J load calculation typically costs $200–$500.
Who pulls the permit, and is the permit fee in the price?
Does the quote include removing the old equipment, venting or chimney work, and any new controls?
Which rebates have you allowed for, and is the rebate shown as a line on the invoice or paid to me later?
What labour warranty do you give, and what does the manufacturer’s warranty require (registration, yearly servicing)?

Our guide to comparing boiler quotes like for like has a fuller checklist, and repair or replace helps if the old unit is still running.

Heating firms in Houston

These businesses appear in public business listings for Houston, and each has its own website describing heating work. The first two are boiler specialists that mainly serve commercial and industrial sites; the rest are residential heating and cooling contractors. We have not checked their work, prices, licences or insurance, and they have not paid to appear. Check the licence yourself before you book.

Fire Power Boiler Industries

Area: East End

Services listed on its website: emergency boiler services, boiler repair, hydronic systems (mainly commercial)

Website: firepowerservices.com