In Massachusetts, heating is not a comfort system — it is a safety system. A furnace that quits in January is a burst-pipe risk within hours, not an inconvenience to schedule for next week. We service and install furnaces, boilers, heat pumps and air conditioning across Greater Boston, and we treat no-heat calls in winter as the emergency they actually are.
Boston-area homes run a wider range of heating equipment than most of the country. Gas and oil-fired forced-air furnaces, steam boilers with cast-iron radiators in older buildings, hot water baseboard, and an increasing number of cold-climate heat pumps. Each fails differently and each needs a technician who has actually worked on it. A steam system with water-hammer and uneven heat is a completely different diagnosis from a furnace short-cycling on a bad flame sensor.
The single most common winter call we get is no heat, and the single most common cause is not a dead furnace — it is ignition and flame sensing. A dirty flame sensor, a failed igniter, a blocked condensate trap on a high-efficiency unit, or a pressure switch reading a snow-blocked exhaust vent. That last one is genuinely seasonal: high-efficiency furnaces vent through a PVC pipe out the side wall, and a snowbank or drifted snow covering that pipe will shut the furnace down as a safety response. It is worth checking before you call anyone.
On the cooling side, air conditioning in Boston has a short but intense season, and a lot of it is retrofitted into homes that were never built for ductwork. That is why ductless mini-split systems have become so common here — they solve the problem of adding cooling to a hundred-year-old house without opening up every ceiling. They also work as heat pumps, which is why they now qualify for meaningful efficiency rebates in Massachusetts.
We will tell you honestly whether a repair is worth doing. A control board on a ten-year-old furnace with a sound heat exchanger is a fix. A cracked heat exchanger is not a repair at all — it is a carbon monoxide hazard and the unit must be replaced. We do not soften that one.
What our Massachusetts HVAC service includes
- Emergency no-heat service, prioritised during cold weather
- Gas and oil furnace repair, tune-up and replacement
- Steam and hot water boiler service, including radiator and baseboard troubleshooting
- Cold-climate heat pump and ductless mini-split installation and service
- Central air conditioning repair, installation and seasonal start-up
- Igniter, flame sensor, pressure switch, control board, blower motor and thermostat replacement
- Heat exchanger inspection and carbon monoxide safety checks
- Annual maintenance for both heating and cooling seasons
- Airflow and uneven-heating diagnosis for rooms that never get warm
- Guidance on Massachusetts efficiency rebate programs where equipment qualifies
Why homeowners in Massachusetts call us
- We work on the full range of New England equipment — forced air, steam, hydronic and heat pump
- No-heat calls in winter are prioritised, seven days a week
- Straight answers on repair versus replacement, including the safety issues that are non-negotiable
- Experience retrofitting cooling and heat pumps into older homes without ductwork
- Serving Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Quincy, Newton, Brookline, Medford, Malden and nearby towns
- One company for heating, ducts, roofing and insulation — the systems that interact in a cold climate
What affects the cost
Heating and cooling costs in Massachusetts depend heavily on the system you already have. What changes the number:
- Whether it is a component repair or a full equipment replacement
- System type — furnace, boiler, heat pump and mini-split are very different installations
- Fuel type and whether any conversion is involved
- Efficiency rating of the new equipment, and whether it qualifies for state rebates
- Existing ductwork condition, or the absence of ductwork entirely
- Number of zones or indoor heads on a ductless system
- Venting and clearance requirements, particularly in basements of older homes
- Urgency — emergency winter service is priced differently from scheduled work
Every quote is free and specific to your property — we do not price this kind of work over the phone without understanding what is actually there.
Recent work
Frequently asked questions
My furnace stopped working in the middle of winter. What should I check first?
Three things before you call anyone: that the thermostat has power and is set to heat, that the furnace switch and breaker have not been tripped, and — if you have a high-efficiency furnace that vents through a white PVC pipe out the side of the house — that snow or ice is not blocking that pipe. A blocked exhaust vent shuts the unit down deliberately as a safety response and is a genuinely common winter cause.
How often should heating equipment be serviced?
Once a year, before the heating season, for a furnace or boiler. It is not upselling: the annual visit is when a cracked heat exchanger, a failing igniter or a dangerous venting problem gets caught, and those are exactly the failures you do not want discovered on the coldest night of the year.
What is a cracked heat exchanger and why can it not be repaired?
The heat exchanger separates combustion gases from the air circulating through your house. When it cracks, combustion products including carbon monoxide can enter that airstream. It is not a patchable component. If we find one, we will tell you the unit must be taken out of service and replaced, and we will not present that as optional.
Are ductless mini-splits worth it in a Boston home?
For older homes without ductwork, they are often the most sensible option available. Modern cold-climate units heat effectively well below freezing, they add air conditioning at the same time, they zone room by room, and Massachusetts efficiency programs offer meaningful incentives on qualifying equipment. Whether they fit your particular house is worth an on-site look.
My radiators bang and some rooms never get warm. Is that fixable?
Usually yes. Banging in a steam system typically comes from condensate trapped in a pipe run — a pitch or venting problem rather than a failing boiler. Uneven heat is commonly a balancing, venting or trapped-air issue. These are diagnosable problems, not something you have to live with because the house is old.
Do you handle emergency no-heat calls?
Yes, seven days a week, and during cold weather we put them ahead of routine appointments. A house without heat in a New England winter becomes a frozen-pipe problem quickly.
Get your heating checked before you need it
Free estimates on replacement equipment, honest repair advice, and priority response on no-heat calls.