HVAC Installation in Boston, MA
A new system here will heat from October through May and cool from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Suffolk County will get in touch.
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A new system here works eight months just to keep you warm
Heat runs October through May in Suffolk County, and winter nights average 23°F from December through February. That is eight months of the year your furnace or heat pump has to work, and it does that work against real cold, not a mild chill. A system sized wrong for those nights will run long and hard, or won't keep up at all.
Summer is shorter but still real, with afternoons averaging 80°F in July and August. Whatever you install has to handle both ends, the cold nights and the warm afternoons, since it's doing both jobs most of the year. Ask about the federal minimum efficiency rating for new equipment, and make sure whatever gets installed meets it.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs stop making sense or the system can't keep up anymore. An old furnace that needs a costly repair is often not worth fixing again, especially once you're replacing the same part more than once. Watch for rooms that never get warm, a system that runs constantly, or a jump in your gas or electric bill with no other explanation. Your furnace carries most of the load here, since homes need heat from October through May, so a struggling furnace has eight months a year to let you down. A contractor can look at the age, the repair history, and the condition of the ducts and tell you whether replacing it now is the right call.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, replacing them together is usually worth considering. A furnace and air conditioner installed at the same time are matched to work together, and pairing an old unit with a new one can mean the new one never runs at its best. Cooling season here is short, just July and August, so your air conditioner gets far less use than your furnace and may still have plenty of life left in it even if the furnace doesn't. A contractor can check the age and condition of both and tell you if they're near the end together or if only one needs attention now.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old equipment first, then sets the new furnace, air conditioner, or both in place and connects them to your ductwork, gas line or electrical circuit, and venting. After that, they check the refrigerant charge on an air conditioner, test the ignition and heat exchanger on a furnace, and confirm the thermostat is talking to the new equipment correctly. They'll also check that the ducts are sealed and sized right for the new system, since a system that's mismatched to your ducts won't heat or cool evenly. Before they leave, the contractor should run the system through a full cycle to make sure it's working the way it should.