Overview: HVAC Contractors
Heating carries this trade through a Canadian year. These companies install and fix furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, air conditioners, ducts and thermostats. They're also who you phone when the furnace quits on the coldest night in January. A good one sizes new equipment from a heat loss calculation on your house, not from the label on the old unit.
Gas work is licensed, and it's worth a quick check. In Ontario, the company must be a TSSA registered fuels contractor, and the technician needs a gas certificate. In British Columbia, Technical Safety BC licenses gas contractors and certifies gas fitters, and a new gas furnace needs a permit. Anyone handling most refrigerants in Ontario also needs a provincial certificate for that.
Ontario has also shut down a long-running sales trick. A company can't sign you up for a furnace, air conditioner, water heater or duct cleaning at your door unless you invited it there to buy. A contract that came from a cold knock is void.
Our listings show what each company states on its own website about licences, brands and hours. Choose your province, then your city, to find the crews that come out to your street.
Frequently asked questions
Can a salesperson sign me up for a furnace at my door?
Not in Ontario, unless you asked them to come. A contract for a furnace, air conditioner, water heater or duct cleaning that grew out of an unsolicited visit is void, and you can keep the equipment with no obligation to pay. If you did invite them, you still have ten days to cancel after you receive your copy of the contract.
How should a company size a new system?
From a heat loss calculation on your own house, room by room. The system has to keep you warm on your region's coldest days, and that's a very different target in Victoria than in Winnipeg. With a heat pump, ask how much of the winter it carries alone, and which backup takes over, and at what outdoor temperature. The answer shapes your bills more than the brand.
Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm with a gas furnace?
Yes in Ontario, and the Fire Code is specific about it. A house with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage needs a carbon monoxide alarm next to each sleeping area. Newer rules add one on every storey. The province also advises a yearly professional check of furnaces, vents and chimneys before the cold arrives. Ask the technician to test your alarms while they're there.
What separates a solid install from a cheap one?
Airflow and paperwork. A new furnace on leaky ducts still leaves the far bedroom cold. Look for measured static pressure, sealed joints and a start-up sheet with the readings on it. In British Columbia, the contractor takes out the gas permit and files a completion notice, so ask for that permit number. In Ontario, ask for the TSSA registration and the technician's certificate.
Should I rent a furnace or water heater instead of buying?
Read the rental contract closely first, including what a buyout costs. Ontario's Homeowner Protection Act banned notices of security interest on consumer goods like furnaces and water heaters. Those notices used to sit on land titles and trip up homeowners trying to sell or refinance. The ban doesn't cancel an existing rental contract, so you still owe what you signed for.
