No heat?
No heat? Start here
Six checks, in this order. The first one is the only one that can't wait.
- 01Do this first
Step 1: A carbon monoxide alarm is sounding, or you have a headache and nausea at home
Everyone outside now, pets too. Call 911 from the sidewalk. Don't go back in to silence the alarm or to open windows. Leave the furnace or boiler alone until the fire department has cleared the house, and we will come after that.
- 02
Step 2: You smell gas
Leave, and call your gas company's emergency number from outside (it's printed on your bill), then 911. Don't flip a switch, light anything or use a phone inside.
- 03
Step 3: The thermostat
Set it to heat and five degrees above the room. If it has batteries, put in fresh ones. A blank screen is usually the batteries.
- 04
Step 4: The switch and the breaker
A furnace has a switch that looks like a light switch, on or near it, and a breaker in the panel. A boiler has its own switch, often at the top of the basement stairs. Check both, once.
- 05
Step 5: The filter and the vents
A clogged filter can make a furnace shut itself off. Look at it, and check that the registers and radiator valves haven't been closed.
- 06
Step 6: The boiler's gauge
Write down the pressure reading and the temperature, then call. Most home boilers sit near 12 psi when cold; the label on yours is the number that counts. If the house is near freezing, tell us on the phone so we can talk about the pipes first.
When you call
What we will ask you
Have these in front of you. They let the person on the phone decide how fast to move.
What heats the house
A forced-air furnace, a hot-water boiler or steam radiators.
How cold the house is
The temperature on the thermostat and the forecast for tonight.
Who is at home
An older adult, an infant, someone on oxygen. It changes the order of the day.
What you saw or heard
A click, a bang, a smell, water on the floor, a light on the boiler.
After hours
Who answers at night, and what it costs
From October 15 to April 15, a technician on rotation answers the no-heat line after hours. Together you decide whether it is safe to wait for morning. If it isn't, a truck comes.
After-hours visits carry a higher visit fee than a weekday visit. We tell you the number on the phone before we dispatch, and the repair itself is written down before work starts, as always.
Questions
About a cold house
My carbon monoxide alarm is going off. What do I do?
Get everyone out, pets too, and call 911 from outside. Don't go back in to reset the alarm or open windows. Once the fire department says the house is clear, call us and we will find out why it happened before anyone relights anything.
What can I check before I call?
The thermostat setting and batteries, the switch and the breaker, the filter, and the boiler's pressure gauge. The no-heat page lists them in order, with the alarm first.
Do you come at night?
From October 15 to April 15 a technician answers the no-heat line after hours and decides with you whether it can wait for morning. After-hours visits carry a higher visit fee, and we tell you the number before we dispatch.
What does the visit cost, and what do I get?
The visit fee is on the pricing page, or we tell you on the phone. You get a written number for the repair before any work starts, and if you say no, you owe the visit fee and nothing else.
Not an emergency?
Send a message instead
We call back the same business day. If it's the middle of the night and the house is cold, call the number instead.
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed
From October 15 to April 15 a technician answers the no-heat line after hours. The after-hours visit fee is on the pricing page.