Heating and air conditioning in Montgomery County, PA: a homeowner's guide
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Montgomery County homeowners know about HVAC work?
Montgomery has more homes than any of the other suburban counties around Philadelphia, a larger share of them in multi-unit buildings than its suburban neighbors, and a heating fuel mix almost identical to the state's. The Census Bureau counts 350,351 housing units in the county, and 26.1 percent are in buildings with more than one unit, the highest share of the four suburban counties. Gas heats 56.0 percent of occupied homes, within half a point of the Pennsylvania figure.
| Main heating fuel | Montgomery County | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | 56.0% | 56.4% |
| Electricity | 27.4% | 25.3% |
| Fuel oil or kerosene | 14.5% | 14.0% |
| Other fuels | 1.3% | 3.8% |
The figures are from the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 Montgomery County profile, which covers 335,505 occupied homes. The housing spans every era: 16.0 percent was first built in 1939 or earlier and 8.1 percent since 2010, both close to the middle of the five counties.
What changes if you live in a condo, townhouse or apartment?
Who decides, who pays and which rules apply can all shift.
- The registration law still covers you. Pennsylvania's Attorney General says the home improvement contractor law applies to single units within a multifamily building, including condominiums and cooperative units, as well as to houses and two-unit buildings. A company replacing the equipment that serves your unit generally has to be registered.
- Check what you own. In a condominium or a building with shared heat, find out whether the equipment that serves your unit is yours to replace before you ask for quotes.
- Larger buildings bring in the state. Pennsylvania's Boiler Division exempts boilers in single-family houses and in apartment buildings with four or fewer units from its inspection. A boiler serving a bigger building is outside that exemption.
Does sizing work the same in an attached home?
The method is the same; the numbers are not. ACCA, the trade association that publishes Manual J, says its load calculation standard covers row houses, townhouses and condominium units as well as detached homes. ENERGY STAR says a contractor should size a system from the home's size, insulation and windows, so an attached unit should be measured on its own terms rather than given the size a detached house of the same floor area would get.
Where a unit has no ducts, ENERGY STAR describes ductless mini-split heat pumps as one option, and lists rooms with hot or cold spots and additions where ducts are hard to extend among their common uses. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 27.4 percent of the county's homes, a little above the state's 25.3 percent, and ENERGY STAR lists switching from electric resistance heat among the ways a heat pump can lower bills. Where a home already has ducts, it says a ducted heat pump can often go in as a drop-in replacement for a central air conditioner or furnace.
How do homeowners in the county check a contractor?
Through the state. No county consumer protection office for Montgomery County was found in the research for this guide. The main check is the Attorney General's contractor search, which can be filtered by county and shows whether a registration is active. With 71.4 percent of the county's occupied homes owned by the people living in them, most of those checks fall to homeowners themselves.
Who issues permits?
Your municipality. Under the state's construction code regulation, installing or replacing a furnace, boiler, heat pump or air conditioner generally needs a permit from the local building code official, while an ordinary repair does not, and an emergency replacement can be done first if the application follows within 3 business days.
How the state's registration and contract rules work is in what Pennsylvania requires of HVAC contractors, and national prices are in the cost guide. Businesses serving the county are on the Montgomery County HVAC contractors page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Boilers and Unfired Pressure Vessels, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Manual J Residential Load Calculation, Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)
- Ductless Heating & Cooling, ENERGY STAR
- Air-Source Heat Pumps, ENERGY STAR
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- 10 Tips for Hiring a Heating and Cooling Contractor, ENERGY STAR