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If you’ve ever gotten a quote for a new furnace or boiler and seen a percentage next to the model number — 80%, 95%, 96% — that’s the AFUE rating. It tells you how much of the fuel your system burns actually becomes heat in your home, versus how much goes out the flue as…

There is a version of this decision that goes well, and a version that does not. The version that does not involves your heat going out at 11 PM in February, a technician you have never met telling you the system is shot, and a $7,000 quote sitting in front of you while your family…

If you have owned an older home in Essex County for any length of time, someone has likely told you to bleed your radiators before the heating season starts. A neighbor, a handyman, or perhaps a previous owner notes tucked away in the utility room might have suggested it. It sounds like good advice. The…

There is a specific moment a lot of Essex County homeowners know well. It is mid-October, the temperature finally dips, and you turn on the heat for the first time since March. Maybe it comes on fine. Maybe it does not. Maybe it comes on but sounds different than you remember, such as a clank,…

Every fall in Essex County, the same thing happens. The nights get cold, you reach for the thermostat for the first time since April, and the furnace kicks on, making a sound you do not remember from last year. A bang. A rattle. A squeal that fades after a few minutes. And now you are…

You do not think about your furnace in July. Nobody does. But somewhere around late September or early October, Essex County experiences its first real cold night, which triggers a rush of calls from homeowners who turned the heat on for the first time in months and got nothing, or experienced a strange smell, or…

Your water heater is working harder than almost any other appliance in your home, quietly accounting for nearly 20% of your total energy use. That’s a significant chunk of your monthly bill going toward something most people don’t think twice about—until the hot water runs out or a leak appears. Solar water heaters offer a…

You’re standing in front of two water heater options. One costs less upfront. The other promises lower monthly bills. Your contractor is waiting for an answer, and you’re not entirely sure which numbers to trust. Here’s what actually matters: a gas water heater typically costs around $30 per month to operate, while an electric model…